Smorgasbord

An excellent array of wines floating about my digs this weekend. All very welcome,too, even if my liver disagrees vehemently. I even managed to fit in a local wine for good measure (all four of my friends will be so proud).

Beaujolais featured heavily with an aristocratic Moulin a Vent from Vissoux, 2008, up first. Tasting like a bastard child of a Montille Beaune and Thivin Cote de Brouilly, the 2008 comes across as a hypothetically syncratic blend of the best of two worlds; Beaujolais fun draped over a Cotes du Beaune frame. Well, they do say that opposites attract. The 2007 Chignard Fleurie Vieilles Vignes was a more fun, less serious approached to Cru Beaujolais. Chalk dust tannins framing bubbly, joyous, violet-kissed fruit, this looked even better day 2. Yum. Both wines show, in their respective styles, what the Gamay grape is truly capable of, when handled with respect and are testament to the diversity and regionalism of this once maligned area.

A 2006 St Joseph ‘Offerus’ (of unknown origin, made and bottles for J L Chave Selections.... oo-er) was similarly impressive hitting all the right notes of high-toned mulberry fruit, great spice and tumbling tannins whist avoiding the over-the-top wall-of-fruit characters that characterized many Northern Rhone’s in 06.

Under the all seeing eyes of Douglas Neal and Graham Bonney the rejuvenated Moorabool Estate, (now renamed after the original Paradise IV Vineyard planted in 1848 by Swiss vigneron Jean-Henri Dardel) has been quietly releasing some of Victorias most exciting bottles of recent. The Paradise IV Chardonnay 2009 is another new release that revels in the fastidious viticulture and back to basics approach of this quality partnership. That Neal’s palate is finely tuned toward the Cote du Baune is evident in the structure, its the juicy, yet smoothly elegant glade of fine fruit that steals the show.

Finally a Heart & Soil number; a 2007 Vaudesir Grand Cru from Domaine Louis Moreau. At such a young stage of evolution its a cornucopia of aromas and flavour; of Peach liquor, Argentinean Lemon Verbena, Moroccan cinnamon and Mexican vanilla. Strewth! That said, the structure, the wines crackle and it’s sinewy skeleton, are defiantly French, suggesting this needs at least a few more years for it’s subsumed terroir to find its voice amongst the more boisterous elements currently dominating the wine. Delicious.

Nic@

9 out of 10 dogs prefer Diam.

Perhaps a reaction to the ‘inconsistency’ of his regular cork closure and the random-ox allegations that have blighted white burgundy producers since the mid-90’s, Patrick Javillier had bottled, for the first time, all of his Bourgogne and Meursault cuvees under Diam closure. Patrick joins a growing list of our producers using Diam, whose clients now also include Keller in Rheinhessen, Domaine St Dominique in the Languedoc and Domaine Lafage in Roussillon. Our 2008 Louis Moreau AC Chablis already comes bottled under Stevin. Tellingly all these producers have a significant export market to cater for. Some Diam propaganda can be found here and the linked articles by Jamie Goode and Sally Easton MW are quite informative and coincidentally also say nice things about Diam.

Getting sidetracked Moses the dog is particularly fond of the pliable firmness of Diam and much prefers these cork chews over regular cork (these just dissolve when faced with canine mandibles) and synthetic closure’s which apparently leave a bad taste in your mouth?

Nic@