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Sparklings, Champagnes and Burgundies, Summer 2016


These high quality wines are excellent 'quenchers'. The first 3 Cremants(one Loire, one Bourgogne, one Alsace) show great typicite. Tired of Moet and the like for the time being, the 2 Gruet Champagnes will be very special in that they are of a very different style from Cotes des Bars. Please read on. The Burgundies are humble and popular, and should be interesting.

  1. Diamant de Loire, Crémant de Loire. Very fresh, lots of bubbles, aromas of citrus, honey, apricot, hazelnut or vanilla for white. Simple palate-built what it is designed for. 100% Chardonnay from Samur, ABV 13% . An aperitif, or to close the meal.

  1. Cave de Lugny 50/50 PN-C, Crémant de Bourgogne, NV. "Are you sure this isn't champagne?’ could have been the question from you from the first sip. With a creamy mouthfeel rather than a fizzy one, this very NV like composition is made using the same Champ methods. Tasting Team’s notes go like this: tones of yeasty brioche, warm apricots, peaches and tart apples with a creamy finish. Quite intense palate from 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir. Cave de Lugny is the 3rd bigger maker for all Burgundies. Great economies of scale, so we think this Cremant is of very good value.

  1. Domaine La Ville Blancs de noir "St. Petersbourg", Crémant d'Alsace, NV. Colour is towards the amber side. Noses dry fruit flavors like apricot, hazelnut but also spices like black pepper. Fine bubble coats the palate , the wine opens on the aromatic richness of the Pinot Black dominate as vanilla aromas , dried fruit and spicy . Good finish and marked by good acidity.The vines are on marl and limestone soils on the town of Wintzenheim and Wettolsheim. Manual harvest in hand , pressing whole grapes, fermentation with temperature control , racking, raising a few months on the lees . Bottling for fermentation. So very traditional method and reminds element of Champagne. .

  1. Champagne GRUET Sélection Brut NV, Côtes des Bars. You should try this because this Champagne represent one of special Chablis taste-mineral, warmer and fruitier. We all know La Montagne de Reims is famous for Champs made from Pinot Noir, La Côte des Blancs for Chardonnay(Blanc de Blancs), La Vallée de La Marne for Pinot Meunier, and La Côte des Bars, on the other hand, is for warmer fruit. Down in the Côte des Bars it’s Kimmeridgian marl capped by Portlandian limestone. That’s exactly the same as in Chablis. One tasting member, who is a Retired Fellow of Royal Historical Society(UK), researched on why this Côte des Bars is not as famous as other Champagne areas and come to the conclusion that they are nearer to Dijon than to Reims and perhaps its not surprising that there was some resistance to the idea of the Aube being part of Champagne.

  1. Champagne,GRUET Rosé Sélection brut NV, Côte des Bars. Strawberry and floral flavour, along with the fresh cherry notes you find in pinot noir. Quite a succulent Rosé Champagne, with some finesse, purity and sturdiness.

  1. Domaine Lucien Muzard 2009 Santaney Premier Cru. Good depth and density of fruit with a quite muscular and structured palate. Meaty tones. Very generous with tight and refined tannins that frame the wine and give a mineral finish and fresh texture.The largest premier cru in the tenderloin, named after its gravel content. The domaine’s holding is 1.34 hectares (3.31 acres) and the vines average 50 years of age.

  1. Domaine Julien Gerard Nuits St Georges 2003. An Nuit-Saint-Georges with depth and texture. Good structure(tannins, alcohol and acidities) wine that reveals a spicy race and large stretches. The grapes are de-stemmed entirely. With some complexitites, this NSG can keep for over 8 years in our view. Quite some Burgundies specialists are selling wines from Julien Gerard in Hong Kong as well, pointing to its popularity at least for the style.

  1. Domaine Jean-Marie M Bouzereau Meurseult 2013. Vanilla aromas with touches of butter and brioche . Round mouth with notes of toasted hazelnuts and acacia honey. Don’t just read our words.JM is a speicalist in Merseult, with generic, Premier Cru and single vineyards). Certainly this is a traditional Meurseult. This wine 1 year in barrels with 20 % new barrels.

  1. Domaine Christophe Buisson Puligny Montrachet 2013. Aged in 100% oak, 2-6 year-old barrels, then aged for 16 months Understandably this is a big and creamy Puligny Montrachet. All grapes are harvested by hand and the site is ampitheatre-like and sited on stony slopes beneath a striking outcropping of limestone cliffs. So, the fruit is fresh and ripe towards tropical, with intense minerality juxtaposed for just the right balance. This wine is imminently drinkable upon release with generous aromas and flavors and while we believe it will age well in a good cellar from short to medium term.

  1. Domaine Lequin-Colin Chassagne Montrachet Premier Cru Les Vergers 2013. This Montrachet shows the lovely minerality characteristic of fine Chassagne. Toasty, textured and rich with great length.Grapes are picked and sorted manually. Well looked after wine, using low pressure pressing, light "d'bourbage", alcoholic and malolactic fermentation take place in barrel, mild 20% new barrels, Batonnage once a week for 11 month until bottling. All these point to the non-intervention style of making to be reflected in the terroir Les Vergers, which faces east near the top (700 feet)of the slope north of the village.INsiders and friends from Burgundy always say that you cannot go wrong with Les Vergers because its pure, brilliantly ripe exotic sweetness and richness.The Lequin family has strong experiences in high-end whites such as Corton-Charlemagne and Bâtard-Montrachet, not to mention their loing tradition in Cru reds. Farmed organically from 2009, biodynamic ideas are introduced since 2010.

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