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| My new hero. Oronce de Beler of La Maison Romane, with a friend. |
Domaine Pavelot, Savigny les Beaune Premier Cru, Aux Guettes, 2010
From the highest vineyard in the village, 20% new barrels, 20 year old vines. Earthy red fruit, flowers and a touch of minerals. Silky tannins. Still on the one dimensional side, especially when compared to the La Dominode, tasted in the same flight. 230 NIS.
Domaine Pavelot, Savigny les Beaune Premier Cru, La Dominode, 2010
A lower vineyard, but with a better, south-facing aspect, 30% new barrels, 80 year old vines. The nose is more intense and mineral laden. The palate is denser and deeper. Both these wines are delicious and terrific value. 270 NIS.
La Maison Romane, Pommard Premier Cru, Largillere, 2010
45-65 year old vine, no new barrels. Funky red fruit, languidly ripe, with a mineral strain. Reservedly wild and individualistic.
La Maison Romane is the brain and love child of Oronce de Beler, wine writer turned biodynamic wine maker. Oronce doesn't own any parcels, instead he tends the vineyards of some esteemed, like-minded names in Burgundy, with his two horses, in exchange for fruit, which he then elevates very non-intrusively in his tiny cellar in Vosne. Daniel remarked that he finds a lot of Vosne in this wine, seeing as it was fermented in Vosne, with Vosne yeasts. Maybe so. I still get a lot of Apollonian muscles of Pommard. 350 NIS.
Domaine Alain Burguet, Gevrey Chambertin, "Mes Favorites", 2008
20% new barrels. A cuvee of vineyards bordering on the Gevrey Grand Crus. An explosive nose, even funkier than the Largillere, very detailed and dense, and the palate is on the same level, with silky fruit. 365 NIS.
Domaine Amiot-Servelle, Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru, Les Charmes, 2010
Loads of fucking flowers, on both nose and palate. Raspberries and lacy tannins fill out the picture. I wasn't crazy about the basic village I tasted a couple of months ago, but this wine is something else. With more air, a more attentive setting, its Chambole-ness is striking - and that intense essence of flowers is memorable enough to make me want more of the same: I'm a hoarder of memorable moments! 500 NIS.
Both of the following wines were opened a day before the tasting, yet remained closed. So my report is going to be quite vague.
Chateau de la Tour, Clos de Vougeout, 2008
Intense, almost black, fruit, on the nose. Very young and monolithic. 640 NIS.
Chateau de la Tour, Clos de Vougeout, Vieilles Vignes, 2007
90-100 year old vines. More elegant than the "regular" 2008, with sweet, sexy fruit. 1000 NIS.
La Maison Romane, Corton Grand Cru, Perrieres, 2008
Anarchy in the Cote de Beaune. There is something so wild and out of the box here, that descriptors are useless, but I will try. Limpid, juicy fruit that thrives on an indifference to putting out. Exotic spices. Angles, mirrors and smoke, and a pale color not unlike that found in a Leroy or an Engel. 500 NIS.
Domaine Amiot-Servelle, Charmes-Chambertin, 2010
Very elegant and feminine, with a flowery perfume similar to his Charmes. A purity of fruit that telegraphs its origin. 900 NIS.
Domaine Alain Burguet, Chambertin Clos de Beze, 2007
Elegant with a Middle Easter bazaar kind of bouquet. Long and balanced. I wish I could afford it, but I can't, so for now I just enjoy encountering it at tastings. 1300 NIS.
The prices are quoted from the price list, but discounts at the importers' tastings are quite attractive.
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