A long rambling post on the Dressner Tasting, Ten Bells, and other things of importance to 546 people (Part 1 and I promise there will be a Part 2)

So Dressner had a two day tasting event of which I only made it to one day because the party at Ten Bells, with VLM, Guillhaume Gerard, Cory Cartwright, Eric Texier, SFJoe, Alice F., Pameladevi, Devlon and whoever else I am forgetting was too much for me. I am getting old and cannot drink that much wine. Cannot do it. But I had a blast. Here are some ramblings from the Dressner tasting.

I tasted a lot but got palate fatigue a bit earlier than I normally do. So take these for what it's worth.

Pepiere

The '08 Gras Mouton was good but not great. I am not loving this new wine at all. It just seems soft and dopey. The last bottle I had did get a bit more cut the next day. Maybe needs age. We'll see.

'08 Clos des Briords was rockin' Had all that great Briords stuff. Jagged, Ornette Coleman-like minerality, popping every which way but normal, with crisp, firm acids and that crisp rainwater vibe. Delicious as fuck was my note on the tasting sheet.

'07 Granite de Clisson was a highlight of the whole day for me. Well one of many. But this stood out. Way better than the '05 with scintillating acid structure and a liveliness in the mouth usually reserved for Briords So minerally but not as pillow-like as the '05. More out of control but still remains precise. I believe this now has the most "breed" of any of Marc's wines.

Thomas Labaille

I rarely taste the Sancerre L'Authentique so the '07 really excited me. Classic Sancerre. Smooth wet rocks, great acids, a lime streak and a long finish. Really great value.

The '08 Les Monts Damnes was empty by the time I got there.

Bongran and Roally

Both of these were awesome. The Roally '07 Vire-Clesse was ripe as all hell on the nose but with delicious ripe apples on the palate with great acidity and weight. Really long. Needs age. I had an '05 later that night and the nose was as expansive as can be with all types of spice, mineral, and fruit. The palate was rich and soft but had great focus and was so damn pure. De Moor type purity.

The '04 Bongran Vire Clesse Cuvee Tradition was lights out as usual but was a bit tight. I'd be drinking the '02 now and hold this for 2-4 more years. The nose was big and fat with a bit of botrytis. Smelled like classic young white burg and had enough breed and finesse you would mistake for a neighbor up north. Just a great nose. The palate had huge acid that kind of got in the way. But it will integrate. The finish was long and complex and showed this will be a big time wine in five to ten years.

Larmandier-Bernier

Really great to taste these after being at the Theise Champagne tasting. These pretty much blew all those wines out of the water. More pure, clean and visceral wines. More class, more breed. Just better. These wines are better also now that Joe has them. I don't know why but they are. Maybe it's Joe's terroir influence. Sarcasm is an aspect of Terroir I hear. Nossiter said so in his book. I kid. I love that book. That's another post though.

The NV Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 1er Cru was great and showed way better than any other disgorgement I have ever had. Really clean, stark and minerally on the nose. The palate was ripe but not overly and had bracingly clean fruit. Just perfect, dry Champagne. The fruit was so vivid and fat but did not overwhelm. Just a beautiful bottle of Champagne.

The NV (2006) Terre de Vertus Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru Non-Dose was just stunning. Dryer than the Extra Brut and massive in girth with concentration I have never found in this cuvee. Very impressive long, minerally and delineated finish. A precise wine.

The 2004 Vieilles Vigne Cramant Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru was the star though. It's the big-bucks cuvee but is just so damn impressive it's hard to dispute the price. Big Cramant Nose my notes say. Yeast, bread and lovely piercing minerality. Lifts into your nostrils. A bit tight and unwieldy on the palate but the explosion of fruit and minerality on the palate is extraordinary. Way young but seems to be a long-distance runner. I love Cramant and usually lean towards Guy Larmandier's version but this is right up there.

Domaine des Terres Dorees (Jean-Paul Brun)

Joyous wines that are so thoughtful and delicious he might be my red wine desert island pick.

The '08 L'Ancien is as happy as a wine could be. Wines can display emotions too, not just elicit an emotional response. I smelled the wine and it was happy which of course made me happy. On the contrary when I smell, say a Markham Chardonnay, which smells sad and almost bi-polar, it makes me sad, then I yell at the wine. But back to the L'Ancien which was awesome. Ripe with dazzling cracklin' Rosie-like acidity. Mineral and crunchy. Just yum.

The '08 Cote de Brouilly is just getting better and better. This is up to the '05 in quality I think. Incredibly class and silkiness on the palate with the dark, brooding fruits of the Cote de Brouilly but with that Brun spark of realness. Long finish. So good.

The '08 Fleurie was classic Fleurie. That's what I exclaimed, and I don't exclaim much, as soon as I smelled the wine. Floral, juicy and very ripe with velvet versus the Cote De Brouilly's silk on the palate. Earthy finish. Exceptional.

The '08 Morgon was juicer than the Fleurie and had a lovely nose that had a scent of beautiful pine along along with red fruits and damp minerals. The palate is just a total berry explosion and already showing complexity but has structure and will no doubt Pinot-tize within the next five years.

Georges Descombes

The difference between these and Brun's wines are day and night. The Descombes have more fruit and are lighter in all aspects but that does not mean that there were not fireworks at this table.

The Regnie 2007 was good with some chalky tannins and nice floral tones in the mouth. Nice cling on the finish. Allegedly there is an unconfirmed rumor that most growers in Regnie add Chateuaneuf-du-Pape to their wines. You taste and you decide if this rumor is true.

The Morgon 2007 was great. Juicy, ripe, light as a feather on the palate and so damn pure. Beautiful, toe-curling, star-gazing wine. Just as good as the 2005.

The 2007 Morgon VV was another highlight of the tasting for me. Just a wow wine. Deeper nose than the non-VV bottling with hints of exotic spice. I picked up paprika but who knows. Really complex and nuanced nose. Smelly stuff. The wine was ripe, as the nose led me on, and had sweet tannin and beautiful purity. A complete wine with many many redeeming characteristics. I'd sleep with it.

Clos de la Roilette

I'm also gonna include some notes from a party I went to two weeks ago where all I drank was the '07 Tardive. It was surprisingly forward with nice raspberry and cranberry fruit. Deep, velvety and earthy and showing 1/90th of what it's got. Gonna be a long ager this one.

The '08 Fleurie was tangy, juicy, high acid, and very ripe. Layered on the palate with nice minerality and a big of aggressive youthfulness, but we all know that will go away. This cuvee always starts off awkward and then gets better with time.

Louis & Claude Desvignes

My personal favorite in Morgon. They went 1 for 2 today.

The 2007 Morgon Cote de Py was massively structured as Desvignes wines can be. It was like a Pauillac in Beaujolais. Grippy, intense and check back in five years, but oh so good.

On the other hand the 2007 Javernieres was very cranky. Really alcoholic and disjointed and just not showing well. A bad day for that wine.

Noella Morantin


This is the woman, actually my new winemaker crush, who will take over half the Clos Roche Blanche vineyards starting with the 2009 harvest. A worthy successor and she has a style very different than the Clos Roche Blanche. There is less sauvage and a bit more finesse, plus less weight. I loved these wines and if she signs a pre-nup, it is on.

The 2008 Sauvignon was killer. Very stony nose with hints of pear. The complexity was astounding and the fruit was perfectly ripe on the palate. A wet wine if that make any sense.

The 2008 Menu Pineau had great acid and texture with those funky mineral and fruit you quite can't pinpoint classic Menu Pineau flavors. A wine for now and fun stuff. Very polished, but in a natural way.

The 2008 Touraine Gamay (Gamay Lite) as she labels it was great. Very perfumed nose almost bordering on confectionary. The palate was just a ripe explosion of fruit on a light but not too light frame. Lovely wine. Very finesse despite all the fruit. Joyous. Reminds me of Brun with less tannin.

The 2008 Touraine Gamay Mon Cher is a bigger, badder wine than the Gamay Lite. Really nutty nose as in nuts like cashews, macadamia, etc. Structured and rich with beautiful silken texture and purity. Lip-smacking wine that is so deep. Velvety. Classy wine and a must buy for me.

The 2008 Cot-a-Cot had a complex deep nose with my favorite decaying leaves aroma a la Clos Roche Blanche. The palate is very fleshy, juicy and floral. Great delineation and purity. I loved this.

Clos Roche Blanche


The stylistic difference between these and Noella's wines are pretty drastic. Her wines are bright and cheerful maybe like Jacques Tati's films (to summon my inner Nossiter), but the the wines of the Clos Roche Blanche have a spooky, evil, but ultimately a wonderful class to them, maybe like mature Cronenberg (ExiStenZ, Dead Ringers, Videodrome). Well I love both estates and both filmmakers so a win-win for me.

The 2008 Touraine Gamay has a funky, cheesey, earthy and evil nose. I loved it. Very pure like a dampened forest after a rainfall but you can still smell all the random animal fecal matter and mashed dead plants. A crude, yet charming palate and very dense. One of the meanest versions yet but I'll be back for more.

The 2008 Touraine Rouge Pif is like Shivers, to continue the Cronenberg metaphor. Shivers was his first film and despite being about a virus that makes people act like sex freaks who want to fuck any human being in their path the film has enough camp in it to put a smile on your face. That is Pif. Very floral nose along with excellent ripeness and already showing great complexity. Good acidity and vivid fruit. Bright but still chewy and contemplative stuff. Usually Pif is not this contemplative. A great vintage for this wine.

The 2007 Touraine Rouge Cot is pure evil in a glass. This is very juicy and ripe with dark fruit. Pitch black. Lovely minerality. This wine is the only Cot that gets as much rocky minerality as the Clos de Gamot stuff. Awesome. But hands off for 7-10 years.

Well that's the end of Pt. 1 but in Part 2 look forward to the 3,456 wines that Thierry Puzelat makes plus Texier and a list of wines I missed that will make me cry. Joe, you have too much wine!