2004 Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot

• 2004 Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot – France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru (4/9/2008)
  Came in waves aromatically. Began with explosive sweet oak with cloves and asian spices. With some digging, backtracked into rot. Eventually meshed together and in the end is not bad, but that rot will be more apparent as the baby fat subsides. Sleek on the light-bodied, raspberry and currant palate if not a touch to oaky for my tastes. Good (?) now, but I wouldn’t expect this to improve. (NB: This improved as it opened and the rotten aromas blew off pretty well; I enjoyed the wine in the end quite a bit but stand behind my initial impression that the flaws with the wine will emerge and ultimately damn the wine with time.

For questions regarding which domaine among the confusing Gagnard family of Chassagne_montrachet, please see my previous post, The Gagnard Family Tree.

Fontaine-Gagnard, Blain-Gagnard, Jean-Noel Gagnard, Gagnard-Delagrange Family Tree

This needs to be done.

Edmond Delagrange (proprietor of Domaine GAGNARD-COFFINET) had two sons named Jacques and Jean-Noel.  Jacques Gagnard married Marie-Joesphe Delagrange (inheriting Domaine DELAGRANGE-BACHELET) and formed Domaine GAGNARD-DELAGRANGE.  His Brother kept his portion of the family land for Domaine JEAN-NOEL GAGNARD.  Jacques Gagnard and Marie Joesphe Delagrange had two daughters, Laurence and Claudine Gagnard.  Laurence married Richard Fontaine forming Domaine FONTAINE GAGNARD and Claudine married Jean-Marc Blain forming Domaine BLAIN-GAGNARD.

 

Honig: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon + 2006 Sauvignon Blanc

Louis Honig purchased a 70-acre tract of land in Rutherford in 1968 and planted it to Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.  The grapes were intially sold to other wineries, although he hoped to some day retire to Napa and produce his own wine.  Louis passed away however in 1981 and it was not until 1984 when his grandson Michael began produces estate Sauvignon Blanc after taking over.  Three years later, Cabernet sauvignon was added as well.  Today, Honig Winery supplements its estate grapes (which are grown in the spirit of sustainable agriculture) with purchased grapes as well.

The Sauvignon Blanc left me underwhelmed.  (I should point out that this was the entry level Sauvignon Blanc, and that there is Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc made entirely from estate fruit as well.)  The nose was ripe and exotique but not very exciting to me; it lacked a bit in the intensity department in both the nose and on the palate.  I’d pass.

However, the Cabernet Sauvignon was more impressive.  From a blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc it started with a deep nose.  There was a full, almost creamy palate with real ripe, approachable tannins. Notes of black fruits and sous bois. Sizable, approachable, dense, mouthfilling Cabernet Sauvignon.  Highly recommended, and priced reasonably in the mid $30’s. 

Heitz Wine Cellars: 03 Napa Cabernet + 06 Napa Chardonnay

James Laube reported in his blog yesterday that Barney Rhodes, owner of the famous vineyards – Martha’s Vineyard and Bella Oaks Vineyard, passed away.  An early investor in Heitz Wine Cellars, his pair of vineyards were brought to international fame via Heitz Wine Cellars with ‘74 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cab considered by many to be one of the greatest California Cab’s ever made.  To read more on Heitz and their single vineyards + an interview with winemaker David Heitz, I highly recommend Alan Goldfarb’s article on Appellation America, Heitz and Seek.

I tasted a pair of Heitz wines Monday, the 2006 Heitz Cellars Chardonnay Napa and 2003 Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa.  To be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed by the Cab, although all Heitz Cabs tend to be pretty tight in their youth.  It had a minty nose, perhaps even rubbery, making it less than inviting. Loads of dried dark fruits on the palate. Well-structured but too tannic for my tastes. Hopefully just dumb right now.

The Chardonnay was better. Classic Napa aromas and flavors but showing good restraint. Good balance of tropical and citrus fruits without being overly ripe or cloying. Fruity, medium-bodied palate finishing with golden delicious apples. A nice bottle.

Champagne Expands – Mr. Field’s Response

I wholeheartedly appreciate Mr. Simon Field’s response to the questions I reaised in a previous entry.  If nothing else, it’s a reflection of the fact that BB & R, who really led the pack in user friendly retail wine sites about a decade ago now, plans on truly utizilizing their blog to exchange information, and I applaud them for that.

As a “doubting Thomas” it is my nature to question any changes to the AOC period, a fact that quite simply is my nature: I fear change!  That being said, Mr. Field’s arguments are reasonable and are as follows:

1. “…in Champagne there has been no inference or implication that these new villages are to rival the finest in the region.”

2. Blending and dosage somewhat eradicate minor differences in the vineyards.

3. The majority of the vineyards are in the Valle du Marne, making my comments regarding the Aube less relevant.

 These are all fair points.  With regards to #3, to my knowledge, the INAO has not yet released the list of villages to be included, but Drinks International cites an article by the French newspaper l’Union that lists the following villages as having been submitted by the CIVC to the INAO:

Marne: Baslieux-lès-Fismes, Blacy, Boissy-le-Repos, Bouvancourt, Breuil-sur-Vesle, Bussy-le-Repos, Champfleury, Courlandon, Courcy, Courdemanges, Fismes, Huiron, La Ville-sous-Orbais, Le Thoult-Trosnay, Loivre, Montmirail, Mont-sur-Courville, Péas, Romain, Saint-Loup, Soulanges, Ventelay.

Aisne: Marchais-en-Brie

Aube: Arrelles, Balnot-la-Grange, Bossancourt, Bouilly, Etourvy, Fontvannes, Javernant, Laine-aux-Bois, Macey, Messon, Prugny, Saint-Germain-L’Epine, Souligny, Torvilliers, Villery.

Haute-Marne: Champcourt et Harricourt.

So while the majority are villages in the Marne, the Aube is well-represented as well, so I feel that my point concerning is relevant, although perhaps overstated.

My final comment is that, given the propensity of the Valle du Marne to produce Pinot Meunier, I wonder if this will mean an abundance of Pinot Meunier available, and hence, either a greater number of Rose wines, blanc de noirs and generally more examples of fuller-bodied, fruit driven Champagnes in the future?  But perhaps, with this, I am now overanalyzing a bit…

In any case, it is a debate that I’m sure will go on for years to come, and reason enough for me to continue checking in on the altogether excellent commentary on the Berry Bros. & Rudd Fine Wine Blog.

NV Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Premier Cru

Nicolas Feuillatte
France, Champagne
Brut Premier Cru
Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay

I have a lot of stuff to talk about today. I figured nothing is better than starting with Champagne as aperitif, so here is the first of notes from a tasting of about 100 wines the other day.  Most of them won’t make these pages because, if it’s a wine that I would pass on, there’s really not much of a point in wasting bandwith and your time on it!

Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte is a fairly recent House when compared to other popular producers.  M. Feuillatte was a Bon Vivant who made his fortune importing coffee and ran in the same circles as the most famous societe people in the 50’s and 60’s (the web site shows pictures of Nicolas Feuillatte and Jacki Onassis, for instance).  He founded his eponymous Champagne house in 1976, pucrhasing grpaes from numerous producers throughout the Champagne Vignoble.  In 1986, M. Feuillatte sold the brand name to the Centre Vinicole de Champagne, a Cave Cooperative of aorund 150 Champagne growers. 

I’m a little less excited about the Feuillatte than some other NV Cuvees, but the price goes a long way in making it a “buy” and a good value.  It has a delicate nose with a light-bodied, green apple palate. It needs a bit more acidity, but is good nonetheless.