Saturday, May 12, 2007

Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St-Jacques 2000 Domaine Denis Mortet

There's a touch of rust on the rim but the core is deep Burgundy - fantastic actually.

The nose is heady, meaty with a touch of blood before the strawberries come through, with a hint of cherries and black forest gateaux, cocoa shavings on the finish.

My goodness I love good Burgundy. All the fine aspects of the nose come through beautifully, the strawberries turning to cherry, fleshing out into the gateaux and cocoa - the structure is perfect, and almost imperceptible its so good. Very good acidity. Tannins are incredibly supple. Wonderful - drink now and for the next 5-10 years. In large quantities.

Sometimes I really miss Luvians.

*****

Tasted 12/5/07 at Luvians Bottleshop, St Andrews

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Palandri Estate Merlot 2002

The colour's saturated purple. It's not soupy, but seems like it should be. Does that make sense? It's dense basically - big extraction.

Earthy, cooked plums dominate the nose but there's a touch of cassis there as well. Very sweet and a bit cloying.

Very juicy fruit on the palate - sweet plums and blackcurrant - dense and unctuous. The tannins are there, but not aggressive: they're soft but not delicate. It's mouthfilling and almost flabby but not. I actually really like it. And I don't generally like merlot unless it's from Pomerol and, well, expensive. But this isn't bad. And it's Australian. Weird.

****

Tasted 4/5/07 at Edinburgh Wine Merchants

Friday, May 04, 2007

Beaune 1er Cru Les Gréves 2002 Nicholas Potel

Classic Burgundian colour with a hint of lavender purple in the right light.

The nose is feminine, floral to start then juicy red fruit, crushed raspberries and cranberries followed by a touch of earth.

The palate is classic Beaune - fresh, luscious red summer fruits knit with tight structure - the fruit is all mid-palate, then there's the backbone - a bit of soft wood, supple tannins and a bit of green (cherry pips?) leading into a nice, though slightly short, finish. Good, but not great - expected more from the vintage.

***(*?)

Tasted at Edinburgh Wine Merchants 4/5/07