Tasted and Approved - April 24

More beautiful tastings again this month!

Discover our descriptions of the wines tasted this month! We had a great team tasting in our offices on April 9th and are going to describe the wines tasted... We're also adding some wines from Friday and our personal tastings! 

Champagne 

Eric Rodez Blanc de Blancs Ambonnay 

Eric Rodez, former mayor of Ambonnay, today cultivates a little over 6 hectares in the beautiful terroir of the Montagne de Reims, classified as Grand Cru. A particularly successful Blanc de Blancs where there is more pinot noir than chardonnay...

Blend of several harvests, beautiful golden color, fine bubbles.. Let's start the tasting! Toasted, buttery and brioche notes on the nose, as well as citrus and yellow fruit notes. It is full and long on the palate, its generosity gives it the qualities of a gastronomic Champagne.

White Wines 

La Porte Saint Jean, Le Saut Mignon 2017 

A perfect wine for Sauvignon lovers! The Porte Saint Jean estate is a lovely gem from Loire. The owner, Sylvain Dittière, honed his skills with great names before launching his own estate (Gauby, Thierry Germain, Château Yvonne and Clos Rougeard - the pope of Loire)

Let's return to our sooooo cute: a micro cuvée 100% sauvignon. The vines are planted on limestone soils which give them a certain typicity. 

On the nose, notes of citrus, white flowers and even blackcurrant. On the other hand, those for whom "it sauvignons" too much, the green side, boxwood and stones is too important to smell anything else... 

On the palate, there is a beautiful harmony with what we had on the nose, as well as flavors of cooked apples, beautiful energy and lovely acidity! 

A nice Vin de France from Loire. 

Domaine Diconne - Meursault Les Narvaux 2022

WAW, an amazing Meursault at a reasonable price!

The Diconne estate, located in Auxey Duresses, is spread over 3 villages of the Côte de Beaune: Auxey Duresses, Meursault and Pommard. The cuvées are from single parcels and the estate magnifies pinot noir and chardonnay.

We're delighted with this Meursault 2022 thanks to the known markers of Meursault: butter, yeasts, honey, aging and wood, a lovely smooth and intoxicating sensation, all with a nice acidity, really nice to taste. It pleases everyone. 

Domaine Ostertag Alsace Grand Cru Pinot Gris A360P 2018 

Ostertag, always a delight in Alsace!

We've already tasted his rieslings, but it's a first Pinot Gris from the estate for most of us. Superb! 

Like all the estate's vines, the pinot gris are worked in biodynamics on a small 0.5-hectare plot! Limestone soils and pink sandstone: the pinot gris draws a beautiful personality from it. 

Perfect balance between richness and finesse of aromatic expression, all with a mineral finish. A very great dry white from Alsace with its wide fruity aromatic palette, from citrus to stone and white flesh fruits, we find flowers and sweet spices. Beautiful length that leaves us all smiling! A great biodynamic wine!

Laurent Habrard Hermitage 2016 Les Rocoules 

A great white Hermitage!

Great gem, difficult to obtain with a production of less than 3000 bottles per year. 

Full-bodied, rich, less milky and drier than its neighbor from Northern Rhône white, the Condrieu, this wine has a very beautiful aromatic richness: hazelnuts, dried apricot, toasted and pastry notes. Roundness, balance, "a refined pleasure and a respected nature" as Laurent Harbrad's wines slogan states. Delicious gastronomic wine. The discussion around this wine led us to say that it would have been perfect with lobster and its cream sauce enhanced with curry. We're still salivating over it.

Jean-François Ganevat Les Chalasses Vieilles Vignes Chardonnay 2016 

These are very old Chardonnay vines (over 100 years old!!) flourishing on red marl soils on the Chalasses terroirs that are vinified for this cuvée. The berries are organic, hand-harvested and worked with gentleness to respect the fruit! 

Golden and brilliant color, notes of quince, apples and citrus intermingle. On the palate, like Ganevat, the Pope of Jura, it's the perfect balance between fat, liveliness, chardonnay acidity. It's sharp! You appreciate it, or you appreciate it less. The finish persists nicely and the flavors of yellow fruits and spices are very present.

Château Soucherie Chaume 1er Cru Côteaux du Layon 2006

A beautiful end of tasting for that evening, pairing this Chaume 1er Cru with our small sweets. 100% Chenin Blanc, sugar well integrated and balanced by a beautiful acidity, very nice. However, you must like sweet wines. 

For those who would be reluctant, you should always taste it in small quantity, with a dessert, it's always interesting, a beautiful discovery! 

Moreover, the typical aromas of peach, apricot, honey and acacia are very pleasant: softness, roundness! Perfect to close a very good evening with a dessert wine!

La Justice Bretaudeau - Vin de France 2020

A blend we don't see every day in the Nantes region! 

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

This wine is aged in ovoid tanks and amphorae for 14 months. The lees are thus lifted and constantly stirred by the internal current and the wine therefore benefits from micro-oxygenation. Unfiltered and unfined, it's very well made!

Fruity nose, and on the palate, magnificent balance: we love the minerality and saline character of this wine, its freshness. Restaurants are fighting over it and we understand why. Perfect with shellfish or white meat, decant ½ hour before, it's even better. 

Les Pieds Sur Terre - Valentin Morel, Chardonnay Les Trouillots 

A very nice organic chardonnay from Jura! 

The vines are over 40 years old; they are planted on the terroir of trouillots and are then harvested manually. Direct pressing, fermentations in topped-up barrels, unfiltered, and without added sulfites: a lovely wine that respects the fruit. Beautiful complexity on the palate, many fruity flavors, fat and a structure carried by a beautiful acidity. We're delighted! 

And even a beer! Cantillon Gueuze 

0 bitterness, or at least, extremely well integrated. Lovely golden color, tangy and fruity, with delicate woody aromas, this beer has great length and can reconcile those who don't usually like hops... The Cantillon is even available on our site!

Red Wines 

Arianna Occhipinti Il Frappato 2014 - IGT Sicilia 

All unanimous: just WOW! 

This biodynamic and natural wine is made from the local frapato grape. Freshness and fruits characterize it, which recalls pinot or gamay. A lovely vegetal note, like a delicate and perfectly integrated stem, enhances everything. Almost impossible blind to locate it in Sicily with such freshness. Delicioso! 

Roumier - Morey Saint Denis 2002 - Clos de la Bussière 

Very interesting to taste! 

You should know that the soils of this parcel are very rocky and covered with clays rich in iron. Perhaps we will find some characteristics of this in the tasting... 

This 22-year-old wine therefore has evolved aromas different from its youth. We could moreover describe it more as a nose wine than a palate wine. 

The color is well evolved with rust reflections. The first nose is already intoxicating and full of complexity. With aeration, we find fruit, humus, game, leather... Everything we expect from great pinots that have bottle age. 

The black fruits today have aspects of more cooked and candied fruits, the tannins are softened and the elegance is still incredible. 

The nose remains more intense than the palate. 

Alphonse Mellot - Sancerre, La Moussière 2020 

Sancerre, cradle of Loire pinot noirs! Not always easy blind... except for the most experienced like Didier. 

Very beautiful expression of pinot noir, worked in biodynamics: crunchy fruits, freshness and vigor, it's a seductive bouquet of redcurrant, blackberry and raspberry that fully emerges. Hint of vanilla, spicy touch, nice length! It's very well made. Without great complexity, but everything is there to fully appreciate it at tasting. 
 

Henri Naudin Ferrand - Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits 2020

Magnificent pinot noir! 

Clear and not very intense color with bright red reflections. 

A nose with pronounced fruit intensity, we're delighted from the start. We also have aging and spice notes. Wide aromatic palette, spicy, fruity and melted tannins, the structure is solid and very pleasant with a dense and powerful pinot noir. 

We knew Claire Naudin's delicious wines, her family (here her father) is therefore also master in the matter! 

Domaine Mayard - Châteauneuf du Pape 2022 

Several of us wanted to taste wines from this trendy estate and its pretty label. 

It's a Châteauneuf du Pape that already tastes very good in 2022. Surprisingly. 

Arthur and Hugo Mayard are two brothers describing themselves as "peasant winemakers" who emphasize living agriculture, putting soil and plants back at the center of their practices. Restitution of organic matter, gentle pruning, debudding, severe desuckering, agro-forestry, vitipastoralism, adaptation of grape varieties to soils, mass selections... Combo of all the trendy practices for natural and organic wines that everyone is fighting over. 

In any case, this wine comes from old vines of Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Syrah and already tastes very good 2 years later. Finesse and silky texture, we feel the aromas of strawberry and peony very pronounced. Pleasant tannins and balance, we're delighted! 

In any case, we all want to taste it again, but also to put a bottle in the cellar to taste this wine again in a few years. 

Lucien Aviet Arbois Cuvée des Géologues Trousseau Rosière 1995 

It's rare to drink such an aged Trousseau! Very interesting and good, but unfortunately a bit "past its prime"! We would have liked to taste it a little younger. 

Nevertheless, the tertiary notes of Trousseau are interesting: aromatic herbs, flowers… Candied fruits, delicacy and beautiful amplitude, while always maintaining a generous aspect! Lucien Aviet produces very beautiful Arbois wines in Jura, in red and white, and the prices are reasonable for beautiful tastings!  
 

Pierre Jean Villa: Saint Joseph Préface 2020 

Very tasty from its youth, it can also be enjoyed after 10 years in the cellar! Beautiful notes of red fruits and pepper, typical of beautiful syrahs from the Saint Joseph appellation, a beautiful balance between finesse and minerality, perfect with a 7-hour lamb shoulder for Easter!

Jean Foillard - Morgon Cuvée Corcelette 2021

We never tire of it and we don't change a winning team! Perfect for aperitif once again. The Foillard estate in Beaujolais produces delicious Morgon, starting with this one, extremely well made! Gamay vines aged about 50 years, the nose is very fruity with intense morello cherry notes, the mouth is pure and tasty with a fresh and velvety finish. Simple and effective happiness!

Domaine Lapierre Raisins Gaulois 2023

Another very nice easy-drinking wine for aperitif. From young Gamay vines, this wine is very accessible on the palate and for the wallet: a very beautiful explosive and fresh fruit! To drink young with friends. Lapierre, always a success!