Pomerol's 2009 Harvest

To sum up the situation as of today. We are planning on harvesting on Monday, starting with a young parcel of La Fleur-Pétrus planted on deep gravels and therefore faster maturing. On Tuesday, we plan on picking the first parcel of Providence. We walked through it this morning and it was almost ready, so with the extremely sunny weekend we will no doubt have, it will probably gain the last bit of maturity needed. But these are only projections of course. I will keep you posted on the evolution throughout the week.

Weather-wise, we have been very lucky so far, with a warm summer since mid-June, and just enough rain to keep the vines healthy. We are optimistic, but as we say in French, lets not put the plough before the ox!

Just Landed

Customers who purchased Domaine du Colombier 2007's, Weinbach 2007's, August Kesseler's 2008 Rieslings or delightful 2005 Spatburgunders and Robert Chevillon's 2007 Nuits St Georges, will see them appearing in their cellars shortly.

All have landed in our warehouse this week.

Burgundy 2006 from bottle: Vosne Romanée

Following on from the Clos Vougeot flight came seven flights of Vosne, four 1er Crus and three Grand Crus. I consider the 2006 Vosne 1er cru flights to be only second in quality to those of neighbouring Nuits st Georges.

Indeed, there are some fabulous wines amonst these 2006's with only a few over extracted and over worked. The best have vivid deep purple colours, pure ripe fruit aromas and silky textured concentrated structures.

Out of the first two flights the Chaumes from Meo Camuzet and Orveau from Sylvain Cathiard took top placings closely followed by Jean Grivot's Brulées and a backward Cros Paratoux from Meo Camuzet.

Flights three and four were made up of Suchots and Malconsorts. Lamarche and Cathiard came first equal with their Malconsorts followed by de Montille Malconsorts. They quality of terroirs is truely exposed in these three wines. Aromas of "fruits du Bois " abound, cool and classy with grand crus texture and weight.

My next and final installment will feature the grand crus of Vosne.

Burgundy 2006 from bottle: Clos Vougeot

Clos Vougeot at its best is masculine, powerful and brooding with fabulous potential.
Inevitably there are less good examples, mostly from the lower slopes of this large 125 acre Clos. Dozens of owners and complex plot ownership add to the minefield of selection for the unwary buyer.
Out of two flights and a total of 19 wines, two clos Vougeots from the extended Gros family were my best marked followed by a firm but well put together Jean-Marc Millot example. Overall there will always be variation in quality given the nature of the vineyard ownership but with no winemaking faults amongst the samples this was a good flight with future potential.

Edouard Moueix signs up to contribute to the Buyers Blog

Our newest guest blogger is none other than Edouard Moueix from the famed
Jean-Pierre Moueix Estate.

Edouard has agreed to give us an insight into a right bank Bordelais harvest. Getting the early news from one of the most significant and prominent families in Pomerol and St Emilion should be a fascinating addition to our blog and we feel honoured to have Eduoard on board.

Expect to hear the latest news from the harvest at Providence in Pomerol, as well as news from Bélair-Monange and a host of other Moeuix properties.

A five minute chat with Edouard this morning gives us further indications that 2009 is shaping up as a vintage of great potential. Thus far the summer of 2009 has been one of five hottest in the past 50 years. Only 2003, 1976, 1989 and 1990 surpass it. A recent smattering of rain arrived as if bidden. As we approach the vendage these are exciting signs. Follow the harvest as it happens right here on our blog.

Burgundy 2006 from bottle: Chambolle-Musigny

The Chambolle 06's were tasted in three flights, two of 1er Cru and one
of Bonnes Mares and Musigny .

The first included wines from eight crus and proved dissappointing as group. Winemaking faults showed up in 25 pc and there was a general lack of precision with many being big black fruited wnes with little energy. A Ghislaine Barthod trio including a lovely Fuees are brighter and more vital.

The second flight made up of Charmes and Amoureuses were solid but I expected more. Maybe they are going through a closed period as excitement is not there.

The Grand Cru flight of Bonnes Mares and Musigny were of more interest showing the weight, structure and power that they should. However at this early stage in their lives they are rather blockish and any refinement is covered up. The most impressive are Freddy Mugnier's Musigny amd Christophe Roumier's Bonnes Mares.

Ruwer's 09 Rieslings looking good so far

I was talking to Carl Von Schubert, owner of the Ruwer's Maximin Grunhauser estate, on Friday - fingers crossed but the growing season seems to be progressing nicely in Germany's Ruwer wine region, he commented : "The Riesling grapes in the vineyard are looking great this year. We expect a moderate yield (ca. 45 hl / ha) and there is much optimism for an outstanding quality! Almost every day I go jogging in the vineyards and my little dog and I think that the grapes already taste very aromatic. Luckily there are enough acorns and beech-nuts in the neighbouring forests so I hope that the wild boars won’t concentrate too much on the grapes!

Burgundy 2006 from bottle: Morey-St-Denis

Two flights of Morey St Denis are relatively small for a top Côtes de Nuits village: eight 1er crus and six Grand Crus.

As a group they lack a single style that is enjoyed and recognised in other villages. This is born out by the the wildly different styles in both flights. The 1er crus are a mixture of green unripe styles and rich ripe structed wines. The Forges de Tart and Clos de la Boussiere from Roumier take the honours, both showing deep dark berry fruits and explosive ripe tannin structure.

My first experience of Clos de la Boussier was a defining moment in opening my eyes to Burgundy. The 1967 drank beatifully in september 1976 during a stay in northern Scotland. I have not looked back since.

The Grand Crus in the second flight show more consistancy of quality and ripeness. Clos de Tart just edging half a point ahead of the Clos de la Roche of Louis Remy and Clos de Lambray. These top wines are very good but the rest are patchy.

A word with Melanie Tesseron

`Just off the phone to Melanie Tesseron (daughter of Alfred Tesseron/Chateau Pontet Canet). She was very upbeat about the 2009s. August was `very hot and dry`. She is currently studying at Chateau Senejac, where the Merlot analysis showed good acidities and already show good alcohols. Pessac Leognan have started to harvest some whites, while the Medoc have an anxious few weeks before their vendage starts. No-one's counting their chickens yet, everyone just hopes that the fine weather continues.`