Sylvain Pataille Burgundy, 2007

Seems like gnocchi is the official pasta of the summer 2010! This time prepared with baked prosciutto and fava beans, accompanied by a bottle of 2007 Sylvain Pataille Burgundy. I have nothing negative to say about this gentle, wild strawberry infused Pinot noir... Simple mature apple nose with a touch of eucalyptus.. Plum marmalade, strawberry, healthy amount of tannin to remind u this is no Gamay. The wine is at it's prime, no signs of yellowing, nicely developed glycerin.

23$ @ Union Square Wines, 83 points

Summer reds

Let me start by saying that I haven't posted for a long time but I am proud that this blog is a year old and the project has not been abandoned. I will also state for the record that I did not drink these four bottles by myself but rather with a group of friends while cooking and eating a meal. We ate potato gnocchi with shitake mushrooms, asparagus and fresh tomato.

Joseph Faireley Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2007

The Faireley family are in the business of buying plots of land in Burgundy that will produce optimal grapes. This wine comes from reserved plots located in the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise. Its a light ruby color with red fruit aromas and very well rounded taste. Its a perfect summer wine that can accompany any meal. It retails for around 20 dollars in the US.

Alba Rossa Salice Salentino Rosso 2008

This wine comes from Salento in the Puglia region located in the boot of Italy. It has a big flavor of fruits and at the same time it retains a very earthy background. This wine is 80% Negroamaro and 20% Malvasia Nera. The cost is around 12 dollars in the US.

Trinchero Barbera D'Asti Superiore 2003

The grapes for the production of this wine come from 20-year-old vineyards. The grapes are fermented in cement vat and then held in old wooden barrels for 12 months before being bottled. The taste is very fresh and fruity, and at the same time slightly sour. The cost of this wine is about 20 dollars.

Nibio Terre Rosse Monferrato Dolcetto 2006

This wine had a taste of mango which was a very cool surprise. It is a full bodied tannic wine with a fine bouquet and a velvety finish. It should be noted that its a biodynamic wine with no sulfites added. The makers say it is very well suited for aging. This particular variety has been grown in this region for more than 1000 years and it is referred to in the annals of the Republic of Genoa. The cost around 13 dollars in US, an excellent value wine.

Philippe Le Hardi Santenay 1er Cru La Comme, 2005

This 1-er Cru Santenay was purchased in 2007 from the producer in Burgundy. It was really hard to keep my hands off it for 3 years, but finally the day has come! Pretty much everything about this wine was a surprise: full body, velvety brick red, after uncorking exploded with flavors of fresh red currant. That phantom bouquet disappeared after 10 minutes: the nose shifted toward Jeggermeister, green parsley, mint and lingering rubber notes. Equally volatile mouth settled on licorice and strawberry, with a bitter herbal finish. To match the wine I made duck breast in Pinot noir reduction sauce, with shimeji mushrooms and grilled squash. Everything worked out pretty amazing!

25 Euro from producer, 90 points

Bruno Clair Marsannay Rose, 2008

An honest, steel cask aged Burgundy rose Pinot Noir, picked up at a spring tasting event at Union Square Wines NYC. Flavors of strawberry and Champagne, dry, mineral, sharp with traces of watermelon and sour cherry. Served chilled, so the nose seemed pretty minimal, mostly red fruit... Great spring wine! We paired it with cherrystone clams and had a blast.
$25 in retail, 78 points

Pauline Vigneron Beaune 1er Cru, 2005

Picked up at a random liquor store in Chelsea, the price seemed a bit too good to be true... Turned out to be very good, but definitely not a typical cotes de Beaune... Leather, spice and pepper bouquet, musty and a bit gamey. The mouth was thick and chewy, schistey, chalky, mineral, lots of cocoa, cherry and a tiny bit of lemon in a strange, muddy finish. Medium body, healthy ruby red, yet with my eyes closed I would never guess it's a Pinot noir... I'd think a Languedoc rustic red of sorts. Yummy, but unusual... which probably explains the price tag of $25.

80 points

Henri Proudhon Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chambres, 2006

The spring is around a corner: break out these Pinot Noirs! This scrumptious bottle was found at Fanny's in Brooklyn, and accompanied a meal of seared scallops with broccoli sauce. Medium light body, red shifting toward brick, transparent and oily. Herbal nose, some notes of cinnamon and other spices. Mostly strawberry compote and molasses in the palette, seems like this wine was produced with plenty of sun. Not a knockout, but generally a very pleasant, gentle burgundy.

54$ in a restaurant, 78 points

Louis Latour, Santenay 2005

The driest, most austere, minimal Burgundy ever... Yet somehow you wanna keep drinking... A vegetal, spicy nose followed by some sharp, almost brutal, tartaric acidity and tannin driven mouth. Some vague attempts of red currant and apple, some lingering aftertaste of lime. Medium body and a dictionary burgundy color. I am guessing the bottle will be getting only better for the next 20 years. This wine makes you wanna put on your altar boy outfit. And the legitimate hardcoreness demands respect. 26$ in retail

73 points

Pierre Matrot Meursault 2007

Unoaked Chardonnay from an old-school Côte de Beaune producer Pierre Matrot. Basic, refreshing, mineral and a perfect match for oysters. A floral bouquet (violets, acacia) with a simple but elegant lemon and honey mouth, very mineral and dry. Accents of tea and grapefruit peel. Enjoyed over a birthday dinner at Pearl Oyster Bar in the West Village (which is more than recommended).

60$ (restaurant price)
80 points

Patrice Rion, Gevrey-Chambertin Vielles Vignes 2003

This powerful Côte de Nuits drank like a Brunello! 2003 was definitely a hot vintage, and it's ready now. Medium to full body, brownish red with medium transparency, velvety smooth texture. Caramel, strawberry jam and subtle spicy notes (eucalyptus?) in the bouquet. Taste wise this wine was an explosion of fruit: mainly plum/prune, fig and cherry compote, with a nice finish of cocoa and coffee (which I attribute to perfectly aged tannin).

This is a Burgundy for a hedonist: less terroir, more pure joy. I had it with home made cheese Spätzle, chicken cutlet and Swiss chard... no complaints:)

$40 at Warehouse Wine&Spirits, NYC.

Louis Latour, Côte de Beaune-Village 2002

2002 wasn't a stellar year for red Beaune (91 points) but this gentle pinot noir is a good candidate for a daily dinner wine. Still purplish red, transparent with no signs of aging, medium body with healthy viscosity. I imagine there was a decent dose of tannin in this wine once, pretty much gone by now.

Soft, mellow and nebulous all around: this is a typical, solid but no thrills Côte de Beaune. Sweet red fruit in the nose, very slow to open. In the mouth: an attack of blackberry, cherry and mature apple mid-palette and a barely detectable pungent-spicy finish. I actually tasted durian fruit in the finish...

Rosemary turkey scallopini, quinoa and green beans seemed like a pretty good pairing.

Week in Burgundy, July 2007

In July 2007 a group of four entry-level wine enthusiasts (including my girlfriend Sakurako, Gosia, Sam and myself) undertook a little trip to Burgundy, France. We assembled in Zurich, where I happened to be for a conference, and drove a rental car all the way to Cote d'Or.

I just recently stumbled upon some photos from that trip and decided that it would be nice to post some on Dailyglass. After all this was the trip which turned me into a somewhat serious wine drinker, and made pinot noir my favorite grape variety. So in a way this blog wouldn't have happen without our week in Burgundy...


At the time spending more than $30 on a bottle of wine seemed outrageous, so this prevented us from drinking grand crus and older vintages... Nevertheless, we managed to hunt down several exceptional bottles and participate in 3-4 tastings every day.


To save money we camped out most nights, which made the whole thing affordable.The bulk of our limited resources went toward various culinary indulgences, which mostly consisted of beef, snails, roosters and foie gras. And cheese, of course ... including the local, super-smelly, half-liquid Époisses. Vegetal matter is not much appreciated in Burgundy region:)




One of the highlights was a half-day tasting class at Sensation Vin in Beaune. We decided to go with reds only, and tasted 10 wines which were samples of various local terroirs. That was a pretty well organized Burgundy crash course, including slides and handy vintage charts.


If I was to mention one bottle that particularly stuck in my memory, it would be the modest, 7 Euro Bourgogne Passetoutgrains 2004 from organic producers Pierre d'Heilly et Martine Huberdeau (picture below on the right). Passetoutgrains is a regional appellation, basically a cuvée of Gamay and Pinot Noir, where Pinot has to be at least 33%. We got the bottle at a remote abbey Pierre Qui Vire, along with some locally produced moldy goat cheeses. I still remember the deeply satisfying peppery black currant taste with grapefruit finish... this wine was so full of energy and life!

For anyone who is into wine: this doesn't have to be an expensive adventure! We loved it and , no doubt, will be back.

Map of the Côte de Nuits

Check out this pretty detailed map of village appellations in Burgundy/ Côte de Nuit. Red areas represent red Grand Crus, purple 1-er Crus. Probably the best place on earth to drink pinot noirs. Click on the image to enlarge.

Hubert Lignier, Bourgogne, 1998

I took a little risk with this $35 Burgundy: a bit too old for a regional appellation from a mediocre vintage... But I knew that Ligner is known for some serious pinots, which are often biodynamic and crushed by pigéage (actually climbing into the tanks and pushing down the cap with your feet). Apparently only natural yeasts are used.

This must have been the driest, most schizophrenic French pinot noir I have ever had. I am suspecting some Négrette was added along the way... Over the two hours of drinking I briefly went through every item on the taste wheel, as if the wine was undergoing a rapid chain reaction.

If I was to describe some of the more stable elements of the nose I would say red fruit compote and fresh cheese, maybe yogurt. But there were also micro-bursts of truffle, jasmine, white pepper and wild strawberries. It was medium-bodied, very viscous, particulate and purplish-red with no signs of oxidation.

The mouth was more consistent (and mighty dry) with cranberry, mature yellow apple and bitter spice. The amount of tannin in this wine made me think of nebbiolo or tannat... I guess that was what kept it from yellowing. It was an adventure for sure ... if I had another bottle I would let it open for two hours... It coupled pretty well with ham wrapped prawns and boiled leeks.

Tartness in the finish would be my only real complaint.

Louis Latour Pinot Noir, Burgundy 2005

I bought 3 cases of this stuff in 2007 at the BQE Liquors on Meeker Av. in Brooklyn ($12).
I've seen this lovely wine develop from a happy, light body, red currant and green apple type young pinot to a pretty serious, structured wine.
Although "Appellation Bourgogne Controlée" simply means that the pinot grapes could come from anywhere in the region of Burgundy, the 05' happen to be so fantastic that it simply doesn't matter... Additionally Latour is a producer with some degree of reputation.
So today's bottle was a dictionary "burgundy red" with a medium to full body. As you can see I made eggplant/Pecorino spaghetti to go with it...

Cassis, plum with hints of eucalyptus and green walnut on the nose.
Mature apple, cherry, lemon mid palate, tannic/vegetal finish of cooked green beans.

I hope to keep some around until next summer!

Meix-Foulot-Paul de Launay, Mercurey 1er Cru, 1996

I was surprised to find this bottle at Uva for $25... I guess Côte Chalonnaise of Burgundy has much less commercial appeal. Or maybe the wine is approaching its aging limit....

In any case, having this 13 year old bottle was a treat. I must say the nicest thing about it was the body and texture: thick and oily while completely transparent and deep red with hints of brick.
The nose is simple: fruit compote, jam. Cranberry, black cherry on the palette, finish of mocha and sea salt. Rock on.

Côte De Nuits Villages, "Vielles Vignes", A.Chopin & Fils 2006

Côte De Nuits Villages, "Vielles Vignes", A.Chopin & Fils 2006

Côte de Nuits Villages is a general appellation for Pinot Noir wines from five of the smaller communes of Côte de Nuits in Burgundy : Fixin, Brochon, Comblanchien, Corgoloin and Prissey.

To make the long story short, this little underdog burgundy rocks...
I got six bottles in a random liquor store on Lorimer and Grand in Williamsburg, $15 a pop.
This is as good as it gets for the price.

The nose is slow to open, but charming with intense raisin and pear.
Silky texture, medium body and a surprisingly mature, deep red color.
The mouth begins with a super dry prune, cherry pit and pear mid palete. The finish is cocoa, green pepper and after the wine opens, truffle. Perfectly balanced tannin.
If you find it, buy it.