Neville Blech's summer Sancerre gastronomic dinner

July 2017 sees the summer season of wine and food expert Neville  Blech's Sancerre dinner on a Thamrs-side setting in London. Neville is best known as the managing director of the authoritative award-winning guide Winer behind the label. the dinner centres on Sancerre, white, rosé and ever-better reds, so right for a warm summer night, served with elegant inventive dishes of Sonia Blech, Neville's wife and renowned chef. We hope to see Neville's son in law, general manager of of one of Sancerre's best cooperatives steering the dinner. There are a few places left. Ring Neville on +44 (0)77 2029 1937
Or at www.winebehindthelabel.org

Herbert Hall, a Kentish tenant farmer who prospered and came to love Champagne

In 1894, Herbert Hall became a tenant farmer on the old Kentish hop route in the Wealden village of Marden. The soils here were clay with a seam of gravel- fine for hops, no doubt.  Herbert was a great character and something of a homespun entrepreneur: he quickly diversified from hops and apples into raising chickens- so successfully, that he became the principal supplier of chicken to the P & O shipping line and their cruise ships. Increasingly prosperous, he developed it seems a taste for Champagne, a discovery made by his great grandson Nicholas Hall only after 2007 when he converted the farm into a vineyard. In digging to make a small swimming pool, Nick unearthed hundreds of shattered  remnants of Champagne bottles enjoyed by his great grandpa.

Herbert Hall has been my favourite English sparkling producer ever since. What attracted me to the wines first off (2010) was  their texture- generous, rounded, durable yet fine-grained. In a word, the building blocks of BALANCE. All this stems from the original piece of land that Herbert farmed, its virtues by good fortune having  in recent years proved also to be an adaptable fine home for growing classic wine grapes:  The sunny,southerly aspect of these now 10 acres under vine; the individuality of clay soils with the gravel seam that aids good drainage - so important in maritime, precariously rainy England. Our island has made great advances in viticulture and wine-making in the last five years. There are now a good dozen estates that have mastered the shiver factor of the high, sometimes excessive acidity of old. Still, no one does it better than at Herbert Hall in wines, which pre-eminently have the silky feel of fine Champagne - though of course the taste and style are very different. HH is so English, a celebration of fresh, fragrant fruit from your favourite  Kentish orchard. The other key to excellence is of course the hand of man.


Nicholas Hall is an enlightened sort of intuitive winemaker who decided to become an English vigneron from the broader perspective of a wine lover in another profession wanting to create fine wine that, before all else, would be a real pleasure to drink.  Some of the world's most interesting winemakers have had the same priority: Paul Draper, educated as a philosopher, at Ridge Montebello, or the late Max Lake, a former hand surgeon at Lake's Folly, come to mind from the 80s/90s. Like them, Nick has a flair and  instinct for the essentials, yet with that  same creative -yes, romantic - attitude which extends beyond the numbers of acidity and pH to why we drink fine wine in the first place.Though his background is liberal arts, having read English at King's London before working as a journalist, he approached his new livelihood with serious intent. Peter Morgan, his tutor at Plumpton College, recognised Nick as a natural in fine winemaking - practical, flexible, keenly observant, open to new ideas. He has  embraced organic farming successfully and is an avid student of weather patterns. The High Weald around nearby Goudhurst, for instance is subject to winds and storms. And as Nick says, " only the other day I learnt that the Kent Ambulance Service has chosen Marden as its most secure and stable base because of our special microclimate, which is protected from the storms and squalls that afflict more exposed neighbouring villages."

Now, to the nitty gritty and my purpose in coming down to taste Nick's newly minted cuvees from 2013 - a promising vintage, fleet of foot, especially Chardonnay, as in Champagne as it happens.

Tasting 21 July 11.15 am

 Herbert Hall  Brut  45% Chardonnay, the rest made up of Pinot Noir and Meunier. Dosage 8 g/l
A lovely shimmering Welsh gold with green lights. Oh yes, those very Kentish scents of
 walking through an orchard, springtime apple blossom ceding to orchard fruits like quince and pear, romantic and sensuous. Unalloyed fruit expression in the mouth, rounded, ripe,  kindly-  yet so fresh with drive and elegant acidity. A fine definition on the end palate. Hall's achievement realised through judicious softening of  part 'malo' and 10% aerating fermentation in oak. A deft exceptional result. 18

Herbert Hall Brut Zero Dosage - a tiny amount made of the same 2013 wine, without sugar. Like Nick and Kirsty, I approached this wine with caution. Delightful surprise, the fruit was ripe enough not to need dosage.  The finished wine is more incisive and speaking personally is made for a seafood lunch, especially oysters and clams. 17

Herbert Hall Brut (2012) - a revealing comparison with the 2013 and a very challenging one in the earlier very difficult vintage. Yet Herbert Hall managed to make a fair- sized crop and a decent wine, unlike other leaders. It is more lactic in style than the exhilarating freshly energetic 2013. Full and soft for those who like an almost gout anglais style - the wine comes through tho' ,the flag still fluttering. 16

Herbert Hall Brut Rose (2013) -  Lovely colour, discreet salmon, shades of Dom Ruinart Pink, for which there can be no higher praise.  Savoury mineral Chardonnay in the driving seat, then the coup de grace, just 5 % Pinot Noir red wine is added at bottling. Dosage 7 g/l. The medley of flavours is fascinating, the hazelnut tones of dominant Chardonnay with an overlay of wild woodland red fruits. Original and very successful. A gastronomic wine for tuna, salmon and milk- fed veal. The star. 18+

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Champagne 2014 - a mercurial year

" A Waltz in Three Tempi" is how Dominique Moncomble, the head of viticulture at the Comité de Champagne, describes the mercurial growing season of this maverick year in Champagne. The dance got off at a brisk Allegro - a warm spring and a superb flowering in early June of beautifully formed baby grapes raised spirits, with the added prospect of a decent sized crop for once. The mood music changed sharply in the last fortnight of July/the first two weeks in August as Nature brought the wettest coldest period, at this stage, for 20 years: Producers returning from their holidays thought they might be facing another lean, mean 2001. Then, Presto, the sun came out on September 1st and ushered in a warm, at times hot, 15-day+ Indian summer which saved the day, certainly from disaster.

Huge relief in the Champagne community greeted this change of fortune, leading the authorities to claim that at harvest time the vineyards were in textbook condition. Well up to a point, messieurs. With the see-saw, topsy turvy sequence of the 014 growing season, the big picture is, no surprise, more mixed and variable.August is almost as important as September in shaping Champagne with any claim to greatness. And those August downpours damaged the thinner-skinned varieties, causing the skins of Meunier (and to a lesser extent, Pinot Noir) to split - allowing the Drosophilia Asian fruit fly to infect the juice and turn it to vinegar. Not universally, to be fair:The Meuniers of the northern Montagne - Villedemange, Ecueil  - fared reasonably well but the farther west you go along the Marne Valley  the sorrier the picture looks.The picture for Pinot Noir and especially Chardonnay is a lot brighter - with the vital caveat of  getting the picking dates right,  a more important decision this year than in any I can remember since 2008. Why? Owing to the August cold, the level of malic acid was still shiveringly high in the first days of September. The vignerons were advised to wait. Even so, the official starting date was announced for September 8, which most savants think was too early..   Those producers who had the cool nerve to wait till the 12th,and even better the 15th, for the still
brilliant autumn sun will be rewarded.  It should be a vintage year for some of the best Chardonnay growers of the Côte des Blancs. And there are some brilliant Pinot Noirs on the Northern Montagne especially Verzenay and Verzy, in large part due to less August rain there than in other districts. It is  at last an excellent year for Aubois Pinot, especially the Barsuraubois, touching the border with Burgundy.


It would be foolish to rush to judgement before tasting the vins clairs next February. At least, the Champenois have reason to be cheerful and use their talent for selection of a crop that is fairly abundant but not too excessive. As Régis Camus, the magician of C et P Heidsieck said the other day,
" before the harvest notre morale etait dans nos chausettes. Now we can sleep at night!"

A little chemistry lesson for a story teller at harvest time

Pressing the grapes skilfully at harvest time is the single most important stage in champagne-making. Get that right and everything else should flow smoothly afterwards. "Flow" is the operative word, for a careful monitoring of the juice, as it moves along the pipe from press to vat, gives the winemaker a precise pointer to the juice's purity, structure & quality - or otherwise, not least when these positives  fade towards the end of the final pressings.

 We are into a very technical area. Happily, a clear explanation of the science comes from Philippe Thieffry, senior winemaker of Veuve Clicquot, formerly at Henriot, where he created the magnificent  prestige Cuvée Les Enchanteleurs. Philippe stresses that "on the subject  of the measures like connectivity, carried out on the "must", what this is about is in fact CONDUCTIVITY. This measure appreciates the richness in minerals of the juices, of which potassium is the most important. The more ions (atoms with an net electric charge) there are, the more conductivity will be raised and the more the juice will be the conductor." It's also worth noting that conductivity and of course pH are at their highest on the juice at the end of the pressing (tailles). That end-juice is clearly less stable and will be used, one hopes sparingly, in  budget non-vintage champagnes for quick consumption.

" Conductivity is also employed  to appreciate the stability of  wines vis à vis tartaric precipitations - by calculating the temperature of saturation  of the wine through a differential measure of conductivity before and after saturation of the wine with tartaric acid," Philippe concludes.

That's quite enough science for one session. If you prefer a more artisanal approach, you will be reassured by the advice of one outstanding chef de caves, who as always thinks outside the box. "  Don't get preoccupied with the science. Traditionally, the most careful champagne-makers taste the   juices constantly throughout  the pressings to gauge their purity and balanced richness appropriate to  a classic Cuvée ( first two 'serres') ". The palate of an experienced press manager may be the surest  test of all.

I am very grateful also to Manu Fourny, Guillaume Roffian, Laurent Champs and Arnaud  Margaine for their approaches to pressing. And not least to my friend and colleague Anne Krebiehl MW for   urging me to ask them the right questions!  


PS. This post is offered as a rider to my "Pressing Matter revisited" feature  published in the October issue of the Drinks Business. I hope  the issues are now clear to the reader.

Plenitudes -the cyclical expression of Dom Perignon

Richard Geoffroy is never at a loss for poetic words to mark the life of his baby from childhood through adolescence onto early manhood and, finally, the prime of life. We are of course talking about Dom Perignon, which Richard believes matures in cycles or as he now calls them, Plenitudes. Dom Perignon reaches its first peak of maturity (P1) after at least seven years on lees, the exact amount of time determined by the characteristics of that year's vintage. P2 emerges after a minimum of 12 years' maturation and P3 usually requires no less than 20 years.

Vincent Chaperon, born in 1976 into an old Libournais wine family,  is Richard's right-hand man and oenologist. A precise, cerebral fellow, Vincent was in London recently to update us on the team's thoughts about the essence of Dom Perignon, which like all true creations is rarely fixed, more often subtly evolving. Extended lees ageing though has always been fundamental to DP's singular style, as it magnifies every character, enriching and protecting it from oxydising. There is plenty of good science to support this claim, as of all the great prestige cuvees DP is the ultimate expression of reductive non-oxidative winemaking, its fruit and vinosity surging, steady and stable, on its way to a grand distinguished life in bottle:  As any greybeard will tell you, it is a mug's name to be too categoric about DP when young. " Plenitude," says Vincent," is a more important pointer to the evolving character of DP than age per se, which the Oenotheque concept (of a library wine) rather conveyed."

Cutting to the chase, we tasted first the current 2004 Dom Perignon, at this fairly early P1 stage (9 years +) .Moderately dosed at 7 g/l. its easy elegance and harmony was on full show from sight to swallow - a shimmering Welsh gold hue; driving, dynamic citrus-led character evident with a  fine paperclip of minerals  - Chardonnay for the moment seemingly in the driving seat. It's the sort of problem-free vintage that is likely to taste good always. The crop was large but the wine a success because the fruit was in excellent health and free of disease. 17.5+ just now.

Onto the 1998 Dom Perignon P2.  The '98 was a challenging harvest, particularly with the see-saw swings of an intensely hot August followed by two weeks of rain in early September: These swings requited rigorous selection of grapes and - absolutely key - a later picking date at  DP: from 21 Sept to take advantage of the returning good weather. Still, it would be idle to deny that '98 is a controversial vintage: several big guns - Bollinger (save the VV Francaises), Jacquesson, Salon and Louis Roederer generally skipped the vintage, fear of certain instabilities and some not- so-noble rot their main reasons for not declaring. But the small band of bravehearts have, for me, made exhilarating champagnes, balancing on the high wire of opulent richness and athletic acidity - Krug, Pol Roger straight vintage, La Grande Dame and of course Dom Perignon itself are favourites. Personally, I have always preferred the DP'98 to the '96 (even as Oenotheque) though the '95 may be better than both.

 The P2 1998 has a lowered dosage of 6 g/l ( the earlier cuvee had 8 or 9 g/l) and an admirable post-disgorgement ageing from April 2012. Definitely the right sort of fine tuning, delivering a colour of fine luminous gold, a steady stream of tiny bubbles and characteristics fully worthy of a second plenitude: the aromas are more intense, honeysuckle melding with yellow peach, and a poised richness and energy on the palate that is truly exciting, What I really love is that one comes face to face with the wine's complex character. The lees ageing helps of course but doesn't mask the majesty of this very fine champagne. 18.5

I would drink it now and over the next three years. To be frank, I'm not sure that the last maturing stage  of Plenitude, P3,  20 years +, really convinces me as a principle across the board. Haven't the lees really done their work after 12, maybe 15 years at the most ? Of course, as an old dog, I may well be in my dotage by the time the P3 stage finally arrives! Live for the moment and enjoy the DP 1998 P2 in the lotus days of summer and autumn till 2016/17. Salut!



Michael Edwards June 2014

First new year taste of Burgundy 2012

Well, we're off on our January odyssey of the 2012 en primeur burgundies. Last night at the Savile club that doyen of great tasters, David Peppercorn, apparently gave a very positive thumbs up to the vintage. In the presence of so many authoritative tasters, the only area I feel I can add anything from  long experience is Chablis, so close to my beloved Champagne with which it has more in common than it does really with the Côte d'Or.

Yesterday morning at the Domaine Chanson tasting, with a clear view over the Tate to Westminster Cathedral from Mentzendorff's offices,  I sensed I was in the presence of something special, reminding me of when I first tasted, forty years ago, a great Chablis Blanchots  with Michel Laroche over dinner in Auxerre- the beginning of a friendship still warm today. The Chablis 2012s have a concentration and latent power I haven't seen for years. But they are generally not going to reveal themselves for quite a while: these are classic sleepers with beautiful ripe acidity and mineral depths to come. The Domaine Chanson Montmains,usually so forward and  friendly, is tightly packed and steely; the Fourchaumes does reveal a glimpse of that flowery charm but with heft behind; as usual the Montée de Tonnerre - "grand cru" quality at a premier cru price  - is a captivating lemon-gold, elegantly gras but with all that austere craggy sense of place that will make a great bottle. Little point in pontificating about Les Clos and even Les Preuses so young, I just wish I will be still be around to enjoy them at their zenith, come 2024 and beyond!

Ay " en Argonne" - current Giraud Champagnes

Tasted London, September 2013

Quite a memorable experience, what a card player might call a Royal Flush.

Esprit de Giraud Blanc de Blancs - a rare type of all Chardonnay champagne, the grapes coming exclusively from the Montagne de Reims, including 10% Ay Blanc. Maintains an admirably crispness and aromas of spring flowers but has an added rich smokiness that is very Montagne. As such, it might go with a wider palate of food flavours than the lighter style of the Cote des Blancs. Stainless steel fermented. Terrific quality for an entry level champagne. *** (*)

Hommage à Francois Hemart, Ay Grand Cru NV - pure Ay 70 /30 Chard. NV. Six months in oak barrels gives patina to the wine. Three years sur lie. Roundness, freshness and the key iodic saltiness of a great site. Long. ****  fine quality /price ratio.

Code Noir Blanc de Noirs Ay Grand Cru NV - richness, intensity, exotic touch of pineapple, reined by noble minerality - you feel the dentelles of chalk in its texture. Opens many opportunities to gastronomy - lobster, seafood, scallops maybe with black bean sauce. ****

Code Noir Rose Ay Grand Cru Ay Grand Cru NV- a truly orginal expression of Pinot Noir Rose striking sensation of wild ham, with strawberries left under the sun, & a note of white pepper. A sensuous delight. For risotto with porcini. **** (*)


Fut de Chene, Multi Vintage, Ay Grand Cru NV - this former top-o-the-range cuvee is now a muti-vintage, rather than from a single year. Created in response to consumer demand, this champagne is all about balance and impressively shows the blender's skills: it has an extra freshness and more keenly defined minerality as a counterpoint to the inherent richness of old; if anything, the wood is even better integrated. **** (*)


Henri Giraud Cuvee Argonne, Grand Cru Ay 2002 - replaces the Fut de Chene vintage, now named after the forest of Argonne. Outstanding wine from a great vintage, all burnised gold, tiny bubbles and every component - fruit, chalky salinity, rich vinosity, perfect oak integration -in superb balance.Grand Vin ***** Tasted Ay, February 2013.

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Giraud Master of Argonne Oak in London

Until recently, trying to identify the origins of oak in French fine winemaking was a fool's errand since tracing the wood to an exact forest and type had become impossible.The supplying coopers  tended to give vague answers about the provenance of their wood to houses and growers, who had to resort to averaging everything out by using up to five different coopers to arrive at a style of wine that they thought best suited their wine. It was all a bit hit and miss, anything but precise and clear.That began to change in the early 1990s, when Claude Giraud from one of the oldest wine growing families in Ay began the most intellectually rigorous study of Champagne's local forest, the Argonne, south east of Chalons which for three centuries had provided the most suitable, least invasive type of oak to support the delicate flavours of Champagne. Claude was at Lord's Cricket ground last week at Coe Vintners Tasting to reveal the fruits of his research into oak, expressed in a range of champagnes that come  predominantly from Ay, the silkiest of Grand Cru Pinots; and certainly all his wines are born on the Montagne - unique for a producer who straddles the world of merchant and grower with effortless ease.

Claude Giraud of Hemart-Giraud

Claude began the seminar with some essential background. He told us that with the dramatic expansion of the Champagne market post World War 2, by the 1950s the Champenois were faced with the  Industrial/Agricultural option. As they had become rich,with the thought of becoming richer still, it is no surprise they chose the industrial path based on volume and ambitious distribution. The oak forest of the Argonne was abandoned and stainless steel fermenters were installed to bring a simpler type of Champagne, which was easier to make for mass markets with fewer challenges and risks. Yet from the late '80s, a stalwart band of smaller producers ( led by the pioneering example of Bruno Paillard in 1981) returned to the precepts of their fathers, seeking to  express the true nature of chalky Champagne - fresh, pure, mentholated, mineral and dry, set for a long distinguished life. At first, several growers were wary of returning to oak for fear of distorting the purity of their wines.

Claude had other ideas. Because of  his heritage, he knew that the poor soil of the Argonne was the perfect place for the subtlest oak to enrich his grands vins d'Ay - if only he could identify and authenticate the forest of this ideal wood. Thanks to Claude's 20-year friendship with Camille Gauthier, a 'meraindier' (tree cutter), the last link in the puzzle has been solved. So Maison Giraud now choose all their own oak from trees that are 150 year old, 100 per cent  Argonne authenticated, the only houses in Champagne that can make this claim. Claude signs off in his laconic humorous style: ' Since 1990, there's been no racking. If you touch the wine, you lose its sense. We're not bio or extremist, we just use sustainable methods to make the best wine. Steel tanks are inert, the cask is alive, giving texture, tension , durabilty.' Another way of saying great Champagne. The sweetest irony is the two entry- level cuvees made in stainless steel, Esprit de Giraud, white and pink, are still of the highest quality at their price point.

That's a long enough post for one day...for a full report on the current Giraud range,  the next postfollows in a few days.

A fresh look to Bordeaux at the Westbury

Last night was one of the most enjoyable evenings I've had in a while, taking my mind off a sore knee inflicted by my falling on the stairs in the middle of the night after a blameless alcohol-free supper. Louise Hill organized a wine dinner for 12 in a delightful svelte room off Alyn Williams' splendid restaurant at the Westbury. So good to see professional wine friends, Hugh Johnson, Charles Metcalfe, Neal Martin, Patrick Schmitt and Tom, the Cambridge wine blogger. Louise the one delightful female company and her husband, Neil the wine tipster, always good value.We had come to hear three growers from Fronsac, Graves and Margaux give eloquent proof of Innovation & Change in Bordeaux. We kicked off with an impressive aperitif, Chateau Couhans, Pessac- Leognan blanc 201, presented by Romain Baillou. Although it was pure Sauvignon, it wasn't the grape's usual descriptors that struck some of us, but as Hugh said, a genuine sense especially of the clay and limestone terroir from which it sprang, in the best part of Pessac-Leognan for whites between Chx Carbonnieux and Bouscaut. The dramatic improvement in this wine apparently owes a lot to an infra -red technology that analyses the soil, applies ripeness tests and determines homogeneous areas. Geeky, I know, but it works.

Then, a relaxing interlude, as chef Alyn Williams, ex chief sidesman to Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, told us about the elegant dinner to come. The lightest veloute of butternut squash/ new forest mushrooms in that morning, with aged parmesan; braised beef  cheek/ gentle garlic scapes/beets/ mild home-made horseradish sauce; vanilla creme brulee, the classic sans extraneous flavourings. Mouthwatering, eh, and later passing the plate test with flying colours, happy to play second fiddle to the wines, just enhancing them.

Guillaume Halley, the young scion of Chateau de la Dauphine in Fronsac took the stage and spoke of two big changes at his beautiful property. His sizeable hectares are all being converted to organic viticulture; and he has changed wine consultants from Denis Dubourdieu to Michel Rolland. To be honest I winced slightly, as I'm a great admirer of Denis and a more reserved one of Michel. But my scepticism was confounded when I gazed at and tasted the baby 2012 Dauphine, largely Merlot -lovely deep colour and enticing, not too extracted ripe fruit - the Rolland influence. The 2009 looked a little in on itself, with a less youthful hue than the excellent 2001, a classic and his father's first vintage after he bought the property in 2000.

Chateau de la Dauphine & pond

And so to Chateau Marquis de Terme, Margaux classified growth, a nostalgic memory of more than 40 years ago when I was a squirt stagier in the Medoc. Lunching frugally but decently at the cobwebby restaurant L'Etoile - 8 Francs all in, vin ordinaire inclus -  I used to dream of being rich enough to drink the Marquis regularly. It always had fabulous terroir in the centre of the Margaux-Cantenac sector, but it's rarely been that fashionable. Now it has a fine protector in Ludovic David, general manager and winemaker. The 2011 is a quiet little beauty from as yet an unsung vintage. Structure, elegance, admirable Margolais expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. Ludovic's innovations include a 10 % use of the now famous 'egg' vat made of concrete, less oxidative than full oak, in order to preserve the fruit, as it ages. The curvaceous shape of the egg allows for a better interchange of wine and lees. Another tool from the box of tricks is a whizz which measures the polyphenols that will contribute much to the complexity of the wines - that's as far as one old  taster understands it. Ask Neal Martin or Chris Kissack! The 2005 Marquis is a great sleeper that needs more time. I can see why Tom loved the 1990, but we had perhaps a different bottle at our end of the table - in our glasses, the wine seemed a bit torn and drying out.

Altogether a lovely evening, though, restoring one's faith in the greatest wine region on earth.

Flights of Franciacorta (2) _ Enrico Gatti

Erbusco vineyards

This azienda is close to my heart, a proper wine farm, the enterprise akin to a good-sized recoltant-manipulant in, say, Champagne's Cote des Blancs, with 17 hectares of prime vineyards above Erbusco, producing 150,000 bottles annually of Franciacorta DOCG across five cuvees. Founded in 1977 by Enrico, the wines are now made by his son, Lorenzo in a style that is serieux, without compromise - for those who want durably structured Franciacortas which will age well in a unhurried way. Low in dosage (5 g/l or less), firm but not too big, with a strong mineral presence & sense of place. English speaking journalists often scurry around to describe the Italianate character of Franciacorta. Personally, I think the more interesting reality is how closely the Franciacortese study the best Champenois and impose even stricter criteria on themselves in the search for balance and poise in their inherently richer wines. Jean-Claude Rouzaud of Louis Roederer's famous adage about 'Champagne's restrained exuberance' finds an echo in Gatti's Franciacortas, a different opulent expression, of course, but from the same philosophical base. Lorenzo at first spoke about his wines in workaday English, but he soon got frustrated and asked if we spoke French. So, we  chatted away happily, comparing notes about our shared favourites among growers in Le Mesnil, Cramant & Avize (Peters, Vergnon, Lilbert, Agrapart). Lorenzo is very well informed

Three winners, tasted Erbusco 10 July 2013

Enrico Gatti Franciacorta Brut Rose. Pure Pinot Nero/Noir from 2010. Made the hard way, the fine roseate colour with subtle salmon lights, achieved by skin contact, is most skilfully judged. Fresh and fragrant, medium intense mouthfeel, beautifully dry, lots of little red fruits but withal precise, well defined, enhanced by that mineral streak and elegant acidity. Made for food, especially risotto con porcini to please the Pinot Nero. Franco Ziliani gave this wine four and a half stars, maybe from a different vintage. How right he must have been.  Today **** (*)  18. Exceptional

Enrico Gatti Franciacorta Saten 2007. 100% Chardonnay, fermented in French oak futs. The wine is now opening up beautifully, the effects of gentle oxygenation from its time in wood. Excellent,straight, super-dry, steely elegance, a touch of austerity in the best sense. Dosage just 4.5g/l. **** 17.5

Enrico Gatti Franciacorta Millesimata 2007 at the start of its journey to full maturity. " You do need patience with my wines," sighs Lorenzo. Great wells of fruits which will blossom in complexity over quite a few years. Great potential Dosage 4g/l, doesn't need more. **** (*) 18

Azienda agricola Enrico Gatti
(Lorenzo Gatti)
Via Metelli 9
25030 Erbusco (Brescia)
Tel 030 7267999
e-mail info@enricogatti.it
site http://www.enricogatti.it


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Flights of Franciacorta (i) - Il Mosnel

 An hour's drive or so from Milan, on the south shores of Lombardy's Lake Iseo, Franciacorta has been on the radar of oenophiles internationally since just the late 1960s. Then, the important house of Guido Berlucchi decided to concentrate on sparkling wines. It was a far-sighted move, for in the half century since, with wealthy Milanese pouring money into new or revitalized wineries, this compact region has established itself as the home of Italy's finest spumante, no expense spared, to vie with great Champagne at much the same full prices. Warmer than the Marne, with fewer problems of ripeness, Franciacorta is withal a fairly temperate sub-alpine climate, Lake Iseo being on average one or two degrees Celcius cooler than Lake Garda to the east. The main quality challenge tho' is to temper the natural richness and assertive character of mainstay Chardonnay in the blends by tending higher altitude vineyards close to the lake and staying loyal to floral, delicate Pinot Bianco/Blanc in the grape mix. Some of the most glamorous wineries (notably Bellavista) now feel they don't need PB  anymore - I suspect what they really mean is that it's a tricky grape to grow, thin-skinned and prone to rot in humid summers. For me, still the greatest of Franciacortas, Ca'del Bosco, doesn't make this mistake: as its presiding creator Maurizio Zanella insists, "an element of  Pinot Blanc is essential to maintain the finesse of the wines." Music to my ears when bigness is too much the order of the day, as much in Lombardy as in Champagne. Another estate which clings to the old virtues of elegance and restraint is the historic house of Il Mosnel,  still family run by a brother and sister,Giulio & Lucia,children of the matriarch Emanuella Barzano Barboglio who died in 2007.

Giulio & Lucia Barzano

Vyds below Franciacorta's Morainic hills

Il Mosnel has been a wine estate in Franciacorta since the Renaissance, reflected in its 16th century cellars and a captivating clos now planted in Pinot Nero/Noir, framed by beautifully tended roses - if you think the wine experience should be all about emotion, this is the spot to rekindle your feelings. For the historian, the original name Franzacurta, first recorded in 13th century documents probably referred to exemption from commercial taxes - in the Latin,franca curtes- which was a privilege of local villages under the protection of influential clergy. Il Mosnel has been in the Borzano family since 1836, and it was Emmanuella who carefully guided the winemaking for 40 years since 1967 Today, there are 40 hectares in production, two of which are reserved for still wine making. The estate is a model of high density planting and restricted yields: the vineyards are in the third year of conversion to organic viticulture. Guilio, the winemaker, ferments the wines in a mix of stainless steel and barrels. Dosage is about 7 g/l, though as at other leading Franciacorta estates he makes an excellent pas dose (Brut Zero), which I think is generally more successful in this clement place than in Champagne.

Three strong recommendations:

The entry level Il Mosnel Brut NV - 60 Chard., 30 Pinot B., 10 Pinot N. 30% fermented in barriques, 24 months on lees, Dosage 7g/l (October 2012) Subtle pale yellow, green lights; captivating white flower aromas; lovely soft-textured mousse caresses the tongue; yet the wine has energy, freshness, mineral drive, length. Brilliant with local Grana Pardana Lombard cheese and better still with Lucia's Casoncelli tortellini with vegetables,oil and herbs. Impressive ***(*) 16.5+

Il Mosnel Saten - 100 percent Chardonnay from the 2009 vintage. The category where the great white grape shines, certainly here. Less pressure, akin to the old cremant style of Champagne. A feminine wine, for once the right word. All silk and satin, fine-drawn, creamy; subtle persistence of flavour makes for a fine finale. A grand aperitif, par excellence/  **** 17

Il Mosnel Riserva 2007  - 40 Chard, 40 Pinot Blanc, 20 Pinot N Welsh gold, a real sheen; at this stage of maturity a captivating note of strawberry; but this is more fine wine than spumante\;,elegant, aromatic, supple, made more complex by good phenolic maturity. No green edges  The bees' knees. Exceptional. **** 18

Great forest for great Champagne - L'Argonne reborn

The great oak of the Argonne Forest, south east of Chalons-sur-Marne lies on the first real hills down from northerly Epernay, an hour drive's away. Since the time of the Giraud ancestors and Dom Perignon, Argonne has been the cradle in which great Champagne is made and aged . The silex soils of the forest gives to the oak a more delicate and subtle texture than that of the Troncais forest in central France. At the beginning of the 20th century there were as many as 180 coopers in Florent en Argonne. But by 1950 the expansion of Champagne internationally brought a more industrial attitude; steel and stainless steel were preferred and the Champenois forgot their forest for half a century

History often turns full circle and there's now a return to oak use in winemaking.. Claude Giraud, pioneer of reborn Argonne oak in Champagne says, " I want to make a call to growers and to bigger brands to use our great local oak. The Argonne Forest needs us today, as we need it. In partnership with the National Forest Office, we are planting its oak now as a symbol of  our patrimony and its historic excellence."

KRUG A TABLE - faites simple

Rue Coquebert  is one of the more famous addresses in Reims, not for its quiet bourgeois architecture but because it is the home of Krug. One's expectations of this ne plus ultra Champagne house have always been high since first coming coming here in the early 1990s. Yet on our first evening, last tuesday, the house excelled in a walk through liquid history, as a quintet of their most famous old vintages in magnums. For a detailed account of a wonderful tasting, I'm keeping that for a more permanent place in a wine journal. But I can say now that the 1969 Krug Collection, which I had not tasted before, is maybe one of the five greatest champagnes of my drinking life, right up there with Veuve Clicquot 1952/1962 and both Henriot Les Enchanteleurs & Roederer Cristal, in 1988.The '69 Krug had effortlessly controlled autolytic aromas- the come hither smells of the baker's shop - then a faultless opulent, elegant mouthfeel, at once rich, vinous, energetic, endlessly complex, and so  fresh & long at 44 years of age. 20/20

                                                

Joseph Krug the founder would have loved this

Factually, my focus today is the informal dinner we had afterwards in the family  house, over or rather next to the shop, looking out onto the lawn, which the beloved, late-departed Henri Krug  kept so immaculately that he could have been an Englishman. As favoured hacks, we're lucky to be able to taste great wines quite often, but I have sometimes thought that the more famous the appellation, the less trouble is taken with the food , especially in sustaining morcels. Not so at Krug, as we sat down to a fine meal, the more impresssive for its simplicity, the quality of the ingredients and the creative touch of Bertrand Grebeau, the young hot chef, protogee of Alain Passard of trois etoiles L'Arpege, now at Septime ( Paris 11eme): Bertrand is in the vanguard of the new bistro-gastronomy wave that is attracting bon vivants wanting to eat as well as always, without burning a hoel in their pocket book.

The theme of the evening was four expressions of Krug Grande Cuvee, the base wines of each blend of different ages: the current 2004, then 2001 (Savoir-Faire). 2002 (Equilibre), 2000 (Richesse). Each blend was matched with a dish.

Line-caught mackerel, citrus fruits & little balls of Macoona almond was a natural pair with the 04 base: the wine a pale vigorous gold, its racy flavours (Chardonnay very present) a fine foil to the strongish mackerel; and, delightful surprise, no way was this GC fazed by the citrus fruits, which can sometimes be assassins of great champagne. xx(x)

White asparagus, button mushrooms & slightly smoked fromage frais. A skilful assembly of flavours, the white asparagus topped with a gratinee; delicious subtly smoked fromage frais a spot-on combo with the 01 base: A more vivid gold, ageing nicely, fine vinosity. A point, 2001 a fragile year but something of a coup at Krug. xxx

Poulette de Patis, roasted vegetables & Cantal Entre-deux AOC.
An exciting dish of beautiful simplicity served with a great Grande Cuvee (base 02 Equilibre). Tender young hen chicken from Le Patis, near Le Mans, pure accompaniments of roasted vegetables, in a light glaze -the carrot esp bursting with flavours. This has the stamp of the great Alain Passard all over it, with the extra Gerbeau touche of lightly melted morsels of Cantal cheese. The GC with a lot of the great 02 in it was perfectly balanced - rich, creamy, upright. elegant, long and satisfying. Grand Vin.Merite le detour, as they say. xxxx

Belched apple, raw cream & salted butter caramel
On its own, a fine dessert and so good for my marginal diabetes! But let's be honest, its sucrosity rather overwhelmed the Grande Cuvee (Richesse, base 2000), which for all its ripeness got lost. I could have done with a small glass of Bonnezeaux or Quarts de Chaume. x

Yet a great convivial evening, and fascinating to see how each harvest has an appreciable influence on Grande Cuvee, in successive releases. A thoroughly healthly exercise - for a professional audience.

Lunch with a difference in Borough Market...

From the first days of January, mid-winter 2013 has been long and cheerless, made harder by the loss of old wine friends - Frank Prial, John  Radford, and mostly recently the beloved Henri Krug, a mentor to me in the early1990s. So I am doubly grateful for an interlude, an epicurean experience that was quite unexpected. Out of the blue, a week ago I was asked to Sunday lunch by Francis and Bronwen Percival at their flat over the Neal Street Dairy, where Bronwen is the authoritative cheese buyer. I've admired Francis as a food writer for some time, his column in Fine Wine giving me something to think about and always penned with wit, erudition and passion. One knew the couple were fine cooks, but boy was I blown away by the lunch and its theme - cheese, cuisine and wines (especially) from Europe vis-a-vis California. Its conception reflected the couple's merged background and studies: Francis, after Cambridge working at the cutting edge of the British culinary revival; Bronwen, the daughter of a Californian musicologist, going to college at Wellesley near Boston, where she studied biochemistry, so she would later have a head start when thinking about starting yeasts for cheese-making.

The lunch which went on until dusk was actually no grande bouffe but an exhilarating mix of the cerebral and the sensuous. As we gathered for aperitifs, two beautiful Neal's Yard cheeses were offered, with the best match there is, aged vintage champagne. The Innes Log was a subtle blue-vein, incisive and crisp, but the Duckett's Caerphilly was magnificent, making me proud that I have some Celtic blood (Cornish, on my mother's side)

with Pascal Doquet (right) in Le Mesnil

 With these, two cracking growers' champagnes in 2002. Pascal Doquet's Mesnil was just plain delicious, with a purity of ripe peach and apple fruitiness typical of the lower slopes of the village. Eric Rodez's Ambonnay was something else, an exceptional expression of (mainly) great Pinot Noir, which when it hits the spot in a perfect terroir and vintage has no peer for flavour and complexity. Ravioli of boudin noir and Kirkham's Lancashire in a sleek wine-blessed sauce was the best pasta I've tasted for months, the flavour contrasts of wines from the Santa Cruz mountains and those of the Jura so marked and fascinating. The hedonism and patisserie -like aromas of Ridge's Montebello Chardonnay 2004 added to its rich vein of sunny Santa Cruz fruit made a riveting comparison with Benedict & Stephane Tissier Arbois Chardonnay 'Les Graviers' 2010, the tenacity of the rugged stony Jurassien terroir making its presence felt in every corner of the wine.


The centrepiece of lunch was the seven-hour slow roasted shoulder of lamb, easing from the bone with a gentle touch of a spoon and so succulent, served with gratin dauphinois. The two wines were very different. The Montus Madiran, 'La Tyre' 2000 from south west France was an imposing rich  mouthful, a little international in style for my taste and Cathy Corison's lovely Napa Cabernet Sauvignon1998, so open, friendly and elegant that it quite won my heart. I think this is enough for  the natural length of a post. More, another day, about the dessert wine from Kracher, with pudding.  A big thank you, Bronwen & Francis.

Pascal Agrapart comes to London

A week ago, Pascal Agrapart, probably the most incisive winemaker in Avize, was in town to show his repertoire of mainly grand cru chardonnay cuvees back to 2002. The venue was the bruit dans le couloir, the much acclaimed Quality Chop House in the Farrington road fringes of the City, handy for Sadler's Wells. Nine champagnes were shown, the perfect number for serious appraisal by  Grands Fromages like say the Rouzauds & Billecarts or for toiling foot soldiers in the trenches, e.g your correspondent. Pascal has always been quite Burgundian in his respect for his privileged soils esp in Avize and Cramant but very Champenois in his winemaking: precise and supremely adaptive in his  use of oak or tank, depending of the weight and character of individual wines and differently styled vintages. The 'malo' is always conducted at Agrapart, but it is a measure of Pascal's flair that perhaps the greatest wine on the day was a 2005, a  difficult, largely too warm vintage prone to oxidation. Not 'Mineral' 05, which kept its driving mineral focus quite intact. Bravo.

Here is the race card of six front runners, using stars and the WOFW score scale out of 20 points.If the numbers and the words don't match, follow the words!


Les '7 Crus' NV Brut (90/10 Chard/PN , the first time Pascal has used a little Premier Cru PN Avenas (up from Mareuil sur Ay) in his blend. Initial elevage 25% in oak. 30 months aging under crown cap. Dosage 7g/l.)  Very healthy and vibrant pale yellow, the vigour of seemingly 08 Chardonnay  tempered by the gras Pinot ripeness in 09. Smart.   *** 16 now

'Terroirs' Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut ( 2007 + 2008. grands crus of Avize, Cramant, Oger & Oiry. Initial elevage  25% in oak. 42 months aging under crown cap. Dosage 5g/l). Bright yellow, maturing hint of gold, dynamic quite punchy bubbles. Lively and energetic mouthfeel, still wound and tight, un peu serree but very promising. Drink at Christmas 2013. ***(*) 16.5

'Mineral' Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2005 Extra Brut (50:50 Avize & Cramant. Initial elevage 50% in oak. 6 yrs bottle aging under crown cap. Dosage 4g/l) Something of a miracle in testing conditions. Perfectly judged ripeness & acidity, pervaded with wonderful mineral flavours, the brisk impact of the chalk. Nothing overdone or out of balance. long and fine. Brilliant winemaking. Grand Vin ***** 18.5

L'Aviseoise Grand Cru Blanc de Blance 2005 Extra Brut (100% grand cru Avize. Initial elevage 100% in oak. 6 years bottle aging under clamped cork). Hedonism in the glass from first sip to last swallow. Richness, gras, heralded by the golden hue...one senses the beneficial, enhancing complexity of oxygenating oak. I do like the wine very much, but for the moment 'Mineral' seems finer- or rather it is to my taste. Re-taste in a years time **** 17.5

'Venus' Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2005 (100 % Avize. Initial elevage  100 % in oak; 6yrs bottle age under clamped cork). Golden dramatic hue - but the decision to make it without dosage in this hot harvest seems spot-on. It has all the elegance and depth of Avize yet is crystalline, incisive, very Pascal. But at the end of the day it's still the Mineral 05 that sings to me. And it's thirty pounds cheaper. One mustn't quibble though.**** 18

'Mineral, Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2002 Extra Brut (50:50 Avize & Cramant, Initial elevage  50% in oak. 6 years bottle age under crown cap. Dosage 4 g/l) Very rich style just this side of a little corpulence, not yet sure where it's going but still remarkable now. **** 17

ends mfe 5.iii.2013

Favourite wines of the Colli Eugenie

On bright summer's days (June 9th/10th, 2012) looking across to the silhouettes of Padovan towers amid the volcanic Eugenie hills, as Petrarch would have done, I felt I was in Paradise. The wines I tasted those days were heavenly, too. Here are five favourites:

 Colli Eugenie,Fiore d'Arancio,Borin, 2010 - Orange Muscat, native to Eugenie but beautifully dry. An adaptable wine of real class for the simple natural food of the region - pasta, vegetables, herbs of high quality for the genuine bon vivant *** 16.5

Rosso Fernice San Basilico 2008 -made only in great years, an intriguuing mix of Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot, historically introduced here by noble Venetian families, plus a smidgin of Barbera. A lusty great red of structure and presence, strong but with a knitting harmony and fineness. Will keep well for a further 10 -15 years in magnum.For Piedmont beef. ****18

"Serre" Il Montolo, 2008. In many ways, my favourite of all - for its originality of splendidly taut, fresh and herbaceous expression of tempering Cabernet Franc + Merlot as an antidote to the heat of the Padovan plain. 'Blackberries' shape a very refreshing mouthfeel. Lovely ***** 18.5

Colli Eugenie DOCG Sette Chiesette, Borin Vini & Vigne passito - an exceptional dessert Muscat from a great producer: elegant Welsh gold, glorious scents of honeycombs and flowers; intense but racy and energetic, with perfect integrated acidity. An aristocrat and vino de contemplazione. Bravissimo! ***** 19

Volcanoes & Fine Wine - the link?

Last June I was pleased to be invited to seminars in the Veneto, first in internationally renowned Soave 20 miles east of Verona; then onto the lesser known Colli Eugenie, south of Vicenza and close to the fine cathedral city of Padova. Historically a transitional land between the Alpine north and the continental plain which eventually leads 60 kms south down to Bologna, the hills of Eugenie are like little pimples on the landscape, formed millions of years ago by volcanic activity beneath what was then a calcareous sea.

And there's  the rub: for the purpose of the consortia's presentations was to assert that the volcanic soils present in both regions was the crucial component  in the quality and distinction of DOCG wines in Soave and Eugenie. Well up to a point, for the soils are more complex than that  - very good wines are made on limestone as well as the classic Basalt volcanic rock of the Veronese; and  the Colli Eugenie has more than 60 different types of soil. In Soave, a tasting of 18 wines from wine producing countries around the world with a strong or  tenuous link to volcanoes produced mixed results. In the end, this seemed like a perfectly legitimate marketing exercise to increase understanding and appreciation  of wines from Soave Superiore, but as an analytical, intellectual investigation, it seemed less satisfying. As Richard Baudoins, the best of the keynote speakers,  sensibly stressed, "in underlining the intrinsic value of wine, of course it's worth trying to find a link with the soil and what is in your glasss..... but we need  also to broaden it and take in more emotional feelings. Personally I'm more doubtful of specific links between volcanic soil and the quality of fine wine, as a general thesis." There speaks the voice of British Philosophical empiricism!I do agree. The influence of volcanic soils was strongly evident in some exceptional wines, for instance, the Etna bianco 2010 Feudo Cavaliere made in Sicly from the Cataratto grape, and the superb Soave Classico " Monte Carbonare" 2006 Suavia. Others like the mildly flavoured, sparkling Souki  of Japan, had a remote flaovur link with volcanoes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Jacquart's new winemaker and streamlined range

Last thursday, against a freezing wind, I left Liverpool Street Station by the Broadgate West tunnel up into the brave new world of the EC2 restaurant scene.Quite by chance, following my nose, I fell upon Snowden Street and Chrysal, the latest Japanese alternative in the Hakhassan Oriental stable. I had come for a tasting lunch with Floriane Eznack, the new winemaker (barely 30) at Champagne Jacquart. I remember her well as the bright assistant to my friend, the great Philippe Thierry of Veuve Clicquot; together they were making red wine for the peerless Grande Dame Rose. Her new job at Jacquart is to streamline the rather confusing number of cuvees and to concentrate on what this fine former cooperative has always done best: to draw on the fine crus of its members' parcels on the Cote des Blancs to fashion a string of vintage blanc de  blancs in a generous style at once richly gourmand  yet elegantly fresh to give immediate comfort to the impatient gastronome with a busy schedule . The main target is the fine restaurant trade.

Before tasting a quartet of  chardonnay vintages 2005 back to 1999, we had a sneak preview of the new vins clairs from the 2012 harvest.At first, this looked like one of the most difficult of recent vintages, teetering on the edge of disaster -hot march, no sunlight for four months, a prolonged failure of flowering, attended by wind, fierce hail, heavy rain, disease. But then the sun came out in a hot August and a fine calm September that chased away oidium, mildew and botrytis - at least in the best kept vineyards, while others languished with rotten grapes. Selection is everything, more than ever before. Yet Jacquart have done a fine job in salvaging a reduced crop- half its normal volume - of excellent wines: Meunier Villedomange, fruit, structure ,depth and ongoing pleasure;  Pinot Noir Mailly, flavours of blackcurrants energized by acidity; and Chouilly. a lovely expansive wine with a core of cool controlled intensity of Chardonnay flavours not seen since the potentially great 2008 harvest. Judgment is reserved until we taste a broader range of the raw material in glacial January & February.

Jacquart Blanc de Blancs Vertical 6.xii.2012

2005 - ripe-looking, gold with green lights, reflecting hot, maybe too hot conditions at harvest time. Opulent to the point of unctuousness, very much a 'continental' rather than a 'maritime' vintage. its richness gives it crowd appeal and it was appreciated by the other tasters. not my cup of tea - lack athletic energy, poise and class. it doesn't refresh. * (*) 14

2004 - more subtle hue of intertwining yellows and greens. a bit reductive for the moment but this should pass to reveal a smoky, flinty character in a classic style. A good 04 *** 16

2002 - an interesting mix of Chouilly, Vertus and Sezanne. gives immense pleasure now with scented
 flavours of warm brioche and honey - gorgeous mouthfeel, creamy, subtly mineral. perfectly balanced, complex, more to give to 2015. Grand Vin ***** 18.5

1999 - much better than average for this low-acid year. Golden fruits, fresh and dried, spicy .perfect mature aperitif for watching the cricket. **** 17