More notes from the the La Dive Bouteille (De Moor, Binner)

I tasted alot of wines in France and Germany. Many that have not been released yet so I hope these are of use to some people. One of the first tables I hit was Alice & Oliver de Moor as I love their wines and they are just great people. They are undervalues in Chablis and in a highly mechanized region they manage yo put out some of the most compelling wines in a wonderfully natural style. They have no 1er Cru or Grand Cru vineyards and still manage to put out out some of the finest wines in the region. I find it amazing how low Burghound's scores are for these for wines. I guess as someone who regularly reviews wines made in a more "traditional" style these might seem like weird strange stuff for him. I surmise you could put De Moor in the same class as Pacalet but for some reason De Moor makes me swoon more. I really like Pacalet but have never understood the pricing. In France they are more expensive than they are here! Now that is saying something in our poor economic state right now. Onto the notes. Interspersed with notes are lovely pictures of Deauville.


2006 Alice & Olivier de Moor Sauvignon St. Bris - First off the 2004 of this wine is of the freakiest beverages I have ever tasted. But that is for another note. Loved the 2006. Bets SSB in all of Burgundy. Not even close. Brocard? Please. Little gassy on the nose but elegant and pure with some nice grass and high-toned citrus notes. Oure and very Sauvignon on the palate but rocky as well with a viscous texture. One of those white wines that has tannin on the finish. Chewy. A litttle funky at this early state but a great SSB in the making. Give it a year. Not as good as the 2004 but very nice.

2006 Alice & Olivier de Moor Aligote "Jeunes Vignes" - Nose is screaming of minerality. Very shell-like. Some apple around that but all faint and whispering. Light refreshing acidity on the palate and streaming brook-like vive to this stuff. Very pure.

2006 Alice & Olivier de Moor Aligote "Plantation 1902" - When this wine is on it is one of the great Aligote's. The 2002, 2004 and 2005 attest to this. All brilliant wines. The 2006 is good but did have a problem for me. The acidity was too low as some wines can experience in this vintage. The nose is richer and riper than the juenes vignes andb the palate is much rounder but still has that edgy Aligote thing happening. There are bursts of pear and apple on the palate but that lack of acidity makes the wine lose a bit of focus. Good and I'd be happy to drink it but not on the level of those former vintages.


2006 Alice & Olivier de Moor Bourgogne Chitry - From very young vines that are 10-12 years old. This is the wine in the stable that gets better every year. Lovely and minerally nose. Impressively pure. A ripe and generous wine. Good acidity and just so easy to drink. Lovely wine. Very pretty.

2006 Alice & Olivier de Moor Chablis "Bel Air et Clardy" - I call this premier cru while the Chitry is like their AC Chablis. This wine is just so alive. A nuanced and very mineral nose with a big swath of stream water. Ripe and concentrated with an intense mineral explosion on the finish. This is stronger than the 2005 here.

2006 Alice & Olivier de Moor Chablis "Rosette" - This is their Le Clos. 2004 is epic and a stunning value. 2005 was great but needed time. A bit rounder than the 2004 but no less complex. Now we come to the 2006 which is like the 2004 but just more of everything. This was my wine of the day on day 1 and I tasted around 125 wines. Some damn good wines too. This had it all. Chewy. clear, dense texture with echoing mineral with incredible snap from the acidity. The finish on this wine is incredible. It is so clean the whole way through and you just cannot believe the finish of this wine. I just tasted the 2004 last week and this is really that much better.


So moved onto Binner and it was great tasting with the Binner guy. He speaks great English (key for me on this trip), know his vineyards very well and exuded passion. Spent alot of time at this table and he had alot of wines. I am not the biggest Alsace fan but these were all great. So pure with alcohol in check. Also a variety of vintages I got to taste which is always nice when evaluating a producer.

2003 Binner Auxxerois Hinterberg - Pretty thick wine. Low acid. A vicitim of the vintage but impressively pure. Still not bad considering.

2004 Binner Riesling Katzentahl - Peach, honey and petrol on the nose. Nice high acid. Good Riesling flavor. Long and pure. Excellent.

2005 Binner Riesling Sonnenberg - My favorite Riesling at Binner on this day. Such a lovely floral nose. Ripe and rich with good extract with lovely finesse. Classy wine.

2005 Binner Riesling Hinterberg - This was impressive too. More minerally than Sonenberg but a bigger body. Thick wine and very dense. Juciy on the finish with a nice mineral echo. Good but lacks a touch of finesse.

1997 Binner Riesling Kaefferkopf "Cuvee Beatrice" - Very petrol nose. Grassy and earthy on the palate with lovely texture and mouthfeel. Great wine.

2006 Binner Pinot Noir - Tough transition here. Spritzy, ripe and easy, uncomplicated palate. Lovely Pinot fruit. Good acid.

2005 Binner Pinot Noir "Cuvee Beatrice" - Silkier and denser than non Beatrice. Longer finish. Nice purity. Very good quality. Notes getting shorter as I realize how many more wines he will pour us.

2004 Binner Muscat Kafferkopf - Nose jumped out at you with orange blossoms and other citrus scents. Very pure and inviting nose. Palate is a lovely blend of citrus notes, green tea and great ripeness. Long finish.

1997 Binner Tokay Pinot Gris "Cuvee Beatrice" - Not a big note here. Just says big, ripe and balanced. Sorry.

2003 Binner Gerwurztraminer Kafferkopf - This was elegant and juicy with classic lychee and grapefruit flavors. Very ripe and long. Does not show the vintage signature as much as I thought it would.

1998 Binner Riesling Kafferkopf VT - Kind of mature. Long and rich. Super stuff. I was getting tired of Binner at this point especially as the wines got richer and this was towards the end of the day.

More pics to come....as usual Blogger is messed up and just does not want to dowload rest of pics.