Drunk and Approved - April 24

More wonderful tastings this month!

Discover our notes on the wines we tasted this month! We had a wonderful team tasting at our offices on April 9, and we’re going to tell you about the wines we tried… We’re also adding a few Friday wines and some from our personal tastings! 

Champagne 

Eric Rodez Blanc de Blancs Ambonnay 

Eric Rodez, the former mayor of Ambonnay, now cultivates just over 6 hectares in the beautiful Grand Cru terroir of the Montagne de Reims. A particularly successful Blanc de Blancs from a place where there’s more Pinot Noir than Chardonnay… 

A blend of several harvests, with a lovely golden color and fine bubbles… Let’s start tasting! Toasty, buttery and brioche notes on the nose, alongside citrus and yellow fruit. Full-bodied and long on the palate, its generosity makes it an excellent Champagne for the table. 

White Wines 

La Porte Saint Jean, Le Saut Mignon 2017 

A perfect wine for Sauvignon lovers! Domaine de la Porte Saint Jean is a lovely Loire gem. Its owner, Sylvain Dittière, honed his skills with some of the great names before starting his own estate (Gauby, Thierry Germain, Château Yvonne and Clos Rougeard—the benchmark of the Loire) 

Back to our sooooo cute one: a tiny-production cuvée made from 100% Sauvignon. The vines are planted in limestone soils, which give them a distinctive character. 

On the nose, notes of citrus, white flowers and even blackcurrant. For those who find Sauvignon a bit too Sauvignon-like, though, the green notes of boxwood and wet stones are too prominent to pick up much else… 

On the palate, it shows lovely harmony with the aromas on the nose, along with flavors of baked apple, lively energy and pleasing acidity! 

A lovely Vin de France from the Loire. 

Domaine Diconne - Meursault Les Narvaux 2022

WOW, an excellent Meursault at a price that isn’t outrageous!

Domaine Diconne, based in Auxey Duresses, has vineyards across three Côte de Beaune villages: Auxey Duresses, Meursault and Pommard. Its cuvées come from individual plots, and the estate brings out the best in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 

This Meursault 2022 is a delight, with all the familiar hallmarks of Meursault: butter, yeast, honey, oak aging and wood. It has a lovely, rich and heady feel, balanced by pleasing acidity. A real pleasure to taste, and a crowd-pleaser. 

Domaine Ostertag Alsace Grand Cru Pinot Gris A360P 2018 

Ostertag—always a delight from Alsace! 

We’ve already tasted his Rieslings, but for most of us, this is our first Pinot Gris from the estate. Superb! 

Like all the estate’s vines, the Pinot Gris is grown biodynamically on a small 0.5-hectare plot! Limestone soils and pink sandstone give it a distinctive personality. 

A perfect balance of richness and finely expressed aromas, rounded out by a mineral finish. A truly great dry white from Alsace, with a broad spectrum of fruity aromas, from citrus to yellow- and white-fleshed fruit, along with flowers and gentle spices. A lovely long finish that leaves us all smiling! A great biodynamic wine! 

Laurent Habrard Hermitage 2016 Les Rocoules 

A superb white Hermitage! 

A real gem, and hard to get hold of, with fewer than 3,000 bottles produced each year. 

Full-bodied and rich, less creamy and drier than its white Northern Rhône neighbor, Condrieu, this wine has wonderful aromatic richness: hazelnuts, dried apricot, toast and pastry notes. Round and balanced—“refined pleasure and respect for nature,” as the slogan for Laurent Harbrad’s wines puts it. A delicious wine for the table. Talking about it, we agreed it would have been perfect with lobster and a cream sauce spiced with curry. Our mouths are still watering. 

Jean-François Ganevat Les Chalasses Vieilles Vignes Chardonnay 2016 

This cuvée is made from very old Chardonnay vines—over 100 years old!!—growing in the red marl soils of Les Chalasses. The organically grown grapes are harvested by hand and handled gently to preserve the fruit! 

Bright gold in color, with notes of quince, apple and citrus intertwined. On the palate, in the style of Ganevat, the master of the Jura, it strikes a perfect balance between richness, liveliness and Chardonnay’s acidity. It’s razor-sharp! You’ll either love it or you won’t. The finish lingers beautifully, with pronounced flavors of yellow fruit and spice. 

Château Soucherie Chaume 1er Cru Côteaux du Layon 2006

A lovely way to end that evening’s tasting, pairing this Chaume 1er Cru with our little sweet treats. Made from 100% Chenin Blanc, its sweetness is well integrated and balanced by fine acidity. Very enjoyable—but you do have to like sweet wines. 

If you’re hesitant, it’s always worth trying a small amount with dessert. It makes for an interesting discovery! 

The characteristic aromas of peach, apricot, honey and acacia are also delightful: supple and rounded! A perfect way to end a wonderful evening with a dessert wine! 

La Justice Bretaudeau - Vin de France 2020

A blend you don’t see every day in the Nantes wine region! 

Chardonnay (80%) and Savagnin (20%) make up this Vin de France (Loire) cuvée. 

This wine is aged in an egg-shaped tank and an amphora for 14 months. The internal currents continually lift and stir the lees, giving the wine gentle micro-oxygenation. Unfiltered and unfined, it’s very well made!

A fruity nose, followed by magnificent balance on the palate: we love this wine’s minerality, saline character and freshness. Restaurants can’t get enough of it, and we can see why. Perfect with shellfish or white meat; decant it half an hour beforehand for an even better experience. 

Les Pieds Sur Terre - Valentin Morel, Chardonnay Les Trouillots 

A lovely organic Chardonnay from the Jura! 

The vines are over 40 years old, planted in the Les Trouillots terroir and harvested by hand. Direct pressing, fermentation in topped-up barrels, no filtration and no added sulfites: a lovely wine that respects the fruit. Beautiful complexity on the palate, with abundant fruit flavors, richness and a structure supported by fine acidity. We love it! 

And even a beer! Cantillon Gueuze 

No bitterness—or, at least, it’s incredibly well integrated. With a lovely golden color, a tangy, fruity character and delicate woody aromas, this beer has a long finish and might even win over people who don’t usually like hops… Cantillon is even available on our site! 

Red Wines 

Arianna Occhipinti Il Frappato 2014 - IGT Sicilia 

We all agreed: just WOW! 

This biodynamic natural wine is made from the local Frappato grape. Freshness and fruit define it, calling to mind Pinot or Gamay. A lovely vegetal note, like a delicate, perfectly integrated stem character, rounds it all out. With freshness like this, it would be almost impossible to place it in Sicily in a blind tasting. Delizioso! 

Roumier - Morey Saint Denis 2002 - Clos de la Bussière 

A fascinating wine to taste! 

The soils in this plot are very rocky and covered with iron-rich clay. Perhaps we’ll find traces of that when we taste the wine… 

At 22 years old, this wine has developed aromas quite different from those of its youth. In fact, you might call it more a wine for the nose than for the palate. 

The color has evolved considerably, with rusty highlights. The first sniff is already intoxicating and full of complexity. With some air, fruit, humus, game and leather emerge… Everything we expect from great Pinots with some age on them. 

The black fruit now has more of a cooked, jammy character, the tannins have softened, and the elegance remains incredible. 

The nose remains more intense than the palate. 

Alphonse Mellot - Sancerre, La Moussière 2020 

Sancerre, the home of Loire Pinot Noir! Not always easy to identify blind… except for seasoned tasters like Didier. 

A beautiful expression of biodynamically grown Pinot Noir: crisp fruit, freshness and vigor, with an enticing bouquet of redcurrant, blackberry and raspberry. A hint of vanilla, a touch of spice and lovely length! Very well made. It isn’t hugely complex, but everything is there to make it thoroughly enjoyable. 
 

Henri Naudin Ferrand - Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits 2020

Magnificent Pinot Noir! 

Clear and lightly colored, with bright red highlights. 

The nose is intensely fruity—a delight from the first sniff. There are also notes from aging and hints of spice. A broad aromatic range of spice and fruit, with softened tannins; the structure is firm and very pleasing, with a dense, powerful Pinot Noir. 

We already knew Claire Naudin’s delicious wines, and it turns out her family—her father, in this case—has mastered the craft too! 

Domaine Mayard - Châteauneuf du Pape 2022 

Several of us wanted to try wines from this trendy estate with its pretty label. 

This Châteauneuf du Pape already tastes wonderful in 2022. Surprisingly so. 

Arthur and Hugo Mayard are two brothers who describe themselves as “winegrowing farmers.” They focus on farming that supports living ecosystems, putting the soil and plants back at the heart of their practices. Replenishing organic matter, gentle pruning, bud thinning, rigorous shoot removal, integrating trees into the vineyard, grazing animals among the vines, matching grape varieties to soils, massal selection… A combination of all the practices currently in vogue for natural and organic wines that everyone wants to get their hands on. 

In any case, this wine comes from old Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Syrah vines, and already tastes wonderful just two years later. Fine and silky in texture, with pronounced aromas of strawberry and peony. Pleasant tannins and balance—it’s delicious! 

We’d all love to taste it again—and put a bottle in the cellar to revisit this wine in a few years. 

Lucien Aviet Arbois Cuvée des Géologues Trousseau Rosière 1995 

It’s rare to drink a Trousseau this old! Very interesting and good, but unfortunately a little past its prime! We’d have liked to taste it just a touch younger. 

Still, the Trousseau’s tertiary notes are interesting: aromatic herbs, flowers… Jammy fruit, delicacy and lovely breadth, while retaining a generous character! Lucien Aviet makes beautiful red and white Arbois wines in the Jura, at reasonable prices for such enjoyable tastings!  
 

Pierre Jean Villa: Saint Joseph Préface 2020 

Delicious even in its youth, it can also be enjoyed after 10 years in the cellar! Lovely notes of red fruit and pepper, typical of the fine Syrahs of the Saint Joseph appellation, with a beautiful balance of finesse and minerality. Perfect with seven-hour lamb shoulder at Easter! 

Jean Foillard - Morgon Cuvée Corcelette 2021

We never tire of it, and why change a winning formula? Perfect as an aperitif, yet again. Domaine Foillard in Beaujolais produces delicious Morgon, starting with this exceptionally well-made wine! From Gamay vines around 50 years old, it has a beautifully fruity nose with intense sour cherry notes. The palate is pure and delicious, with a fresh, velvety finish. Simple pleasure at its best! 

Domaine Lapierre Raisins Gaulois 2023

Another lovely, easy-drinking aperitif wine. Made from young Gamay vines, it’s easy on both the palate and the wallet, with an exuberant burst of fresh fruit! Drink it young with friends. Lapierre delivers once again!