Haslemere Cellar - Burgundy Wines

BURGUNDY

We have had a succession of good vintages in Burgundy. While everyone raved about the undoubtedly good 2005s, don't overlook the elegance of 2004s and the classic style of many of the2006s.

WHITE BURGUNDY

Chablis

We continue to buy our Chablis from Domaine Billaud-Simon. Bernard Billaud and his winemaker nephew Samuel stress the importance of typicity and terroir character achieved from top-quality fruit and minimal handling. 2005 is an opulent fruity vintage and wines at all levels are drinking beautifully now. The Premier Crus will continue to improve for another year or so.

2005	Chablis, Domaine Billaud-Simon	*bottle*	£12.50
	*special case price*	*12x75cl*	£138.00
2005	Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons, Domaine Billaud-Simon	*bottle*	£16.99
	Great mineral character with overtones of acacia and celery salt. Attractive now but will continue to improve for 1-2 years.
2003	Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos	*bottle*	£45.00
	Rich & fat, by Chablis standards. Spot-on ready for drinking.

Mâconnais and Côte Chalonnaise
2006	Mâcon-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes, Domane Larochette-Manciat	*bottle*	£11.75
	Lovely ripeness with hints of tropical and citric fruit – highly recommended. Very drinkable now but will benefit maturing for a further year or so.
2006	Saint-Veran, Domaine Larochette-Manciat	*bottle*	£12.50
2005	Pouilly-Fuissé Les Petits Bruyères, Larochette-Manciat	*bottle*	£15.50
	Big fat ripe fruit but no oak – great balance.
2006	Montagny 1er Cru Cuvée Classique, Château de la Saule	*bottle*	£13.50
	One of our staples for many years. I have often described this wine as “Baby Meursault”.
2005	Rully, Domaine Michel Briday	*bottle*	£14.50
	Stéphane Briday’s Rully is terrific – great mineral character and a very judicious use of oak. Need I say more to encourage you to buy his wine ?
2005	Rully 1er Cru Grésigny, Domaine Michel Briday	*bottle*	£16.99
	This is Stéphane’s pièce de résistance – riper, more length & structure and rewards a few years’ cellaring. This is a wine I buy for the Royds Cave Personelle every year.

Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet & Santenay

We added two new estates to our list of White Burgundy suppliers last year – Remy Léquin-Colin in Santenay and Bruno Colin in Chassagne-Montrachet. The Léquin-Colin wines are accessible and excellent value. Bruno Colin’s wines are steelier with a higher emphasis on mineral character and will reward longer keeping. We continue to deal with two suppliers in Meursault: Vincent Bouzereau & Domaine Jean Monnier (run by grandson Nicolas), who represent a marked contrast in styles. The Monnier wines are steely with prominent mineral character and benefit from a few years maturation. Vincent Bouzereau’s wines are fatter and richer and, though they mature just as well, are more approachable as young wines.

2006	Bourgogne Aligoté, Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£8.99
	Very well made everyday white Burgundy. *special case price*	*12x75cl*	£99.00
2005	Meursault Les Narvaux, Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£25.50
	A single vineyard wine though not a premier cru with a lively citric & mineral character.
2004	Meursault, Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£24.50
2004	Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes, Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£36.00
	More weight, depth & structure than the Narvaux.

2005	Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières, Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£38.00
	Vincent only has tiny quantities of Puligny. His 2005 has great ripeness along with the characteristic mineral character.
2002	Puligny-Montrachet, Les Petits Nosroyes	*bottle*	£26.00

2004	Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes, Domaine Jean Monnier	*bottle*	£35.00
	Both Monnier wines have great concentration and are beginning to drink well.
2005	Santenay Les Hâtes, René L’équin-Colin	*bottle*	£16.99

2005	Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers, René Léquin-Colin	*bottle*	£31.50
	More substantial than the Charrières and will benefit from a year or two’s cellaring.
2006	Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Le Charmois, Domaine Bruno Colin	*bottle*	£20.00
	Saint-Aubin is a in a side valley above Meursault and represents great value.
2005	Chassagne-Montrachet, Domaine Bruno Colin	*bottle*	£28.00
	Zesty & steely but approachable now.
2005	Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot, Domaine Bruno Colin	*bottle*	£45.00
	Fuller-bodied than the village wine (above) and with classic piercing steely fruit and well-controlled oak balance. Great stuff.

Corton-Charlemagne

A remarkable collection of vintages all in tip-top condition having been shipped recently straight from the cellars of Jean-Charles Le Bault de la Morinière at Domaine Bonneau-du-Martray – a name synonymous with the famous Grand Cru.

2005	Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Bonneau-du-Martray	*bottle*	£
2004	Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Bonneau-du-Martray	*bottle*	£
2003	Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Bonneau-du-Martray	*bottle*	£
2001	Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Bonneau-du-Martray	*bottle*	£79.00
1991	Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Bonneau-du-Martray	*bottle*	£

also available:

2005

Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Bonneau-du-Martray

[shipment November 2008] per case

6 x 75cl

RED BURGUNDY

Côte Chalonnaise & Mâconnais

Red Chalonnaise wines continue to gain seriousness. The Givry is grown on soil with a high iron content which gives it a marked earthy character. The Mercurey has more of a black cherry fruit character. The Larochette-Manciat wines are a recent discovery (see whites above) and their Mâcon Rouge is great stuff.

2006	Mâcon Rouge Les Bussières, Domaine Larochette-Manciat	*bottle*	£10.99
2002	Givry, Domaine Chofflet-Valdenaire	*bottle*	£13.50
2000	Mercurey 1er Cru, Domaine du Meix-Foulot	*bottle*	£16.25
	We are delighted to have been able to get hold of a few more cases of this delicious mature wine.

Côte de Beaune

As with the whites, we have new reds from Santenay & Maranges from Bruno Colin & René Lequin-Colin. These are medium-weight and are excellent expressions of the terroir.

2001	Chorey-les-Beaune, Domaine Edmond Cornu	*bottle*	£

2001	Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Valozières, Domaine Edmond Cornu	*bottle*	£
	Pierre Cornu’s Chorey-les-Beaune is an old favourite – I often use it in Blind Tastings to demonstrate no-frills Burgundian Pinot Noir. The Aloxe-Corton Valozières is spot-on for drinking now.

2003	Corton Grand Cru, Domaine Bonneau du Martray	*bottle*	£

2002	Corton Grand Cru, Domaine Bonneau du Martray	*bottle*	£
	Jean-Charles has considerably less Corton than Corton-Charlemagne (see above) and he has succeeded in raising the quality of his red wines considerably recently. The turning point was the 1993 vintage. The 2003 is probably his best effort so far.

2002	Pommard-Epenots 1er Cru Clos des Cîteaux, Jean Monnier	*bottle*	£29.00

1998	Pommard-Epenots 1er Cru Clos des Cîteaux, Jean Monnier	*bottle*	£28.50
	Nicolas Monnier has made a fantastic 2002 while his 1998 is drinking well.

2003	Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru, Domaine Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£
	Very ripe with classic cherry & raspberry fruit. Delicious early drinking.

2004	Volnay, Domaine Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£19.50

2003	Volnay, Domaine Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£19.50

2004	Volnay 1er Cru Champans, Domaine Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£26.50

2003	Volnay 1er Cru Champans, Domaine Vincent Bouzereau	*bottle*	£29.50
	The Champans is more serious than than the village Volnay (above). The 2003s are rich and fat, the 2004s will warrant a little more maturation.

2003	Volnay 1er Cru Cuvée General Muteau, Hospices de Beaune	*bottle*	£45.00
	Bought at the Hospices de Beaune auction by Vincent Bouzereau and matured & bottled by him under his négociant name Jehan Esmonin. The 2002 (see below) is the more classic while the 2003 is the more gutsy.	*magnum*	£75.00

2002	Volnay 1er Cru Cuvée General Muteau, Hospices de Beaune	*bottle*	£45.00
	Great stuff !

2004	Santenay Les Charmes, Domaine René Lequin-Colin	*bottle*	£12.99
	Great value, soft and, as its name suggests, charming.

2004	Santenay 1er Cru La Comme, Domaine René Lequin-Colin	*bottle*	£19.00
	More substantial than the Charmes and will reward a year or two’s cellaring.

2004	Maranges 1er Cru La Fussière, Domaine Bruno Colin	*bottle*	£16.50
	Maranges, beyond Santenay at the bottom of the Côte de Beaune, is not very well-known but provides delicious wines at keen prices. This may be drunk now or kept a year or two.

2004	Santenay 1er Cru La Gravière, Domaine Bruno Colin	*bottle*	£19.50
	A more gutsy, earthy style than the Lequin-Colin Santenays – keep 2-3 years.

Côte de Nuits

We continue to buy from Christophe Drag at Domaine Jean Chauvenet and Virgile Lignier. At village level the 2002s are just beginning to drink well. At Premier Cru level take advantage of the our remaining stocks of 2001s before moving on to the 2002s. Both growers are really excited by the quality of their 2005s so look out for our January offer.

2003	Nuits-Saint-Georges, Jean Chauvenet	*bottle*	£22.50
	The 2002 Village Nuits is now spot-on for drinking. special case price	*12 x 75cl*	£
2004	Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Bousselots, Jean Chauvenet	*bottle*	£
	More classic than the 2003 below *special case price*
2003	Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Bousselots, Jean Chauvenet	*bottle*	£
	Enormously ripe yet retains great balance. *special case price*	*12 x 75cl*	£
2002	Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Bousselots, Jean Chauvenet	*bottle*	£

2002	Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains, Jean Chauvenet	*bottle*	£
	Winemaker Christophe Drag achieved a rare combination of power, concentration and classic structure in 2002.
2001	Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Bousselots, Jean Chauvenet	*bottle*	£

2001	Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains, Jean Chauvenet	*bottle*	£
	Great “terroir” character in these two. Drinking well now.

2004	Chambolle-Musigny, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£
	*special case price*	*6 x 75cl*	£
2003	Chambolle-Musigny, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£
	Deliciously elegant cherry fruit character. *special case price*	*6 x 75cl*	£
2004	Morey-Saint-Denis, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£
	Darker, more black cherry fruit character. *special case price*	*6 x 75cl*	£
2002	Morey-Saint-Denis, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£
	*special case price*	*12 x 75cl*	£
2002	Gevrey-Chambertin, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£
	Rich & earthy character. *special case price*	*12 x 75cl*	£
2004	Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Faconnières, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£
	*special case price*	*6 x 75cl*	£
2003	Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Faconnières, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£
	Massively concentrated black cherry & spice flavours. *special case price*	*6 x 75cl*	£
2002	Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Faconnières, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£36.00
	Very attractive now but will reward keeping another year or two. *special case price*	*12 x 75cl*	£
2002	Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Aux Charmes, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£
	As the name suggests, a little more rounded & elegant than the Faconnières. *special case price*	*12 x 75cl*	£
2003	Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, Virgile Lignier	*bottle*	£62.00
	*special case price*	*6 x 75cl*	£

2004	Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots, Lignier	*bottle*	£48.00

2005	Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots, Louis Jadot	*bottle*	£59.00
	I have always found the Les Suchots to be one Jadot’s best efforts. Best kept another 1-2 years.

Beaujolais

I keep on being told that Beaujolais is out of fashion but, judging by the amount of proper Cru wines that we sell, it can’t be. The Beaujolais Villages & Moulin à Vent are recent additions.

2005	Beaujolais Villages, André Colonge	*bottle*	£
	Elegant, soft & fruity. Ideal picnic wine.
2005	Moulin à Vent, Jacky Janodet	*bottle*	£
	Good combination of charming Gamay fruit plus a little earthy terroir character.
2006	Fleurie, M Jambon	*bottle*	£13.25
	The same wine previously had Marcel Jonchet’s name on it – Marcel has joined forces with Monsieur Jambon.
2006	Brouilly Pisse Vieille, René & Florent Dufour	*bottle*	£12.50
	Despite its unfortunate name the Pisse Vieille [tr. old slope] is to Brouilly what the Côte du Py is to Morgon – one of the best sites in the village.
2005	Morgon Côte du Py, M Jambon	*bottle*	£11.25
	Marcel’s Morgon is benchmark stuff from the best vineyard in the appéllation. It has never been satisfactorily explained to me why it should be less expensive than the others – take advantage of it !


Cellars at Domaine Jean Monnier in Meursault	Vincent Bouzereau giving me a lesson in vine grafting

The Holy of Holies – Le Montrachet Grand Cru

Red Wine Rosé Wine White Wine [O] – Organic [B] - Biodynamic