July WCWC Pack 2 - Burgundy! - R1070

 

Chamonix	Pinot Noir Reserve	Franschhoek	2007	R 159
Florente de Merode	Aloxe Corton 1er Cru	Côte de Beaune	2006	R 415
Rene Lequin-Colin	Bourgogne Chardonnay	Santenay	2006	R 165
Joubert-Tradouw	Chardonnay	Tradouw	2006	R 100
Maison Joseph Drouhin	Cote de Nuits Villages Rouge	Côte de Nuits	2006	R 190
First Sighting	Pinot Noir	Elim	2007	R 96

 

Perhaps the mostly difficult purchasing decisions are found in Burgundy. With hundreds of growers producing wine from each of their many vineyards it becomes a minefield of buying options. Couple this with the marginal climate and the struggle for full ripeness in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, choosing the vintage becomes ever more important. But perhaps this is why Burgundy remains the wine for purists, hedonists and wine collectors. Whilst those with the best vineyards generally make the best wines, emphasis on producer is key. This leads to the primary rule when purchasing Burgundy; Pick the producer, then the vineyard and finally the vintage!

 

Over the last thousand years, monks started mapping out the vineyards in Burgundy according to the track record of the wines produced from each vineyard. Consistently, vineyards that ripened better made more concentrated wines. Therefore the top vineyards were classified as Grand Cru with the second best as Premier Cru. Those wines made in and around the village were simple named after the village. And finally wines produced from a blend of various vineyards in Burgundy were just named Bourgogne. The prices of Burgundy generally follow this hierarchy, unfortunately making the Grand Cru and even Premier Crus rather inaccessible for most.

 

The finest wines arise from the Côte de Or – slopes of Gold - which is further split into the Côte de Nuits in the North and the Côte de Beaune within the town of Beaune and further South.

Outside the Côte de Or, generally less heralded, more simple and cheaper wines are produced. This is where one is able to find the real bargains – Macon, Mercurey and Rully provide excellent short to medium term drinking.

 Typically Burgundy white is a mineral, medium to full bodied Chardonnay with some oak support. Further north in Chablis, which is actually closer to Champagne, unoaked more steely examples are found.  The reds are light to medium bodied Pinot Noirs with forest floor notes, cherry berry fruits and again a mineral stance. Limestone soils offer firm acidity and pure fruits adding to their elegance whilst the unique east-facing slopes make Burgundy rather unique. The Grand Crus can be quite tannic when young and in a good vintage can age decades, but generally Burgundy is accessible in the short to medium term.

 

Chamonix Pinot Noir Reserve, Franschhoek 2007 One of the most sought after of Pinots, this tends to the more fruit-driven side backed by some well integrated French oak. Certainly more in the clear-climate ilk, there is ample cherry fruit and a lovely firm acidity provides much elegance and fineness. Certainly one of the top SA Pinots.

Florent de Merode Aloxe Corton, Cote de Beaune 1er 2006 To contrast this, the Aloxe Corton on the Hill of Corton is famed for is Grand Cru whites of Charlamagne and Reds of Clos du Roi and Bressandes. It has a more fruit driven, floral and mineral note as apposed to the more herby and fuller wines of the Cote de Nuits. Though quite young, there is lashings of pure fruit along with much delicacy. Due to the firm acidity and softish tannin, its quite versatile but would best suit a simple roast chicken or seared-tuna.

 

First Sighting Pinot Noir, Elim 2007 With new plantings within cooler regions of the Cape, expect more Pinots such as the First Sighting from Elim. Deemed not worth to be released into the top-tier range, we think there is great potential here. Not much oak interference, a beautiful purity and great drinkability is on offer. Expect this to be less jammy and obvious than the warmer climate SA offerings, but still riper and simpler than the Burgundy.

Maison Drouhin, Côte de Nuits Villages 20006 The Pinots from the North usually have a bit more grip, structure but finer texture. Drouhin is one of the top negoiciants in Burgundy. I.e they purchase grapes from other growers as well. This comes from various villages within the Cote de Nuits such as Vosne-Romanee and Nuits-St-George.

 

Lequin Colin Bourgogne Chardonnay  - Cote de Beaune 2006 A real up and coming producer of classical rich whites from the Chassagne Montrachet and Santenay area, Rene Lequin Colin’s standard Chardonnay punches above its weight. With some barrel fermentation, there is good texture, white pear and lots of minerality. Jancis Robinson gives it a very respectable 16+/20

Joubert Tradouw Chardonnay, Klein  Karoo 2006 Another angle to WCWC is to identify under-the-radar producers with unique approaches and interesting wines.  Herewith a Chardonnay from Meyer Joubert in the Klein Karoo. Fairly high altitude, low yields and a simple wine making approach delivers a Burgundian style with nut and honey notes and an elegant complexity. Compared to the Bourgogne however one see how as hard as everyone tries, Burgundy can’t be completely replicated. 

 

 

Bordeaux Pack 1

From more info on the WCWC!