There’s no denying the quaility or ambition of the wines from this revitalised domaine. This is a very powerful Pinot, closer to a top Gevrey than a Clos de Vougeot. There’s a lot of oak on the wine at the moment, but this is a wine that is built for bottle age. The underlying fruit is excellent, just waiting to strut its stuff in five years or more.
Wine Type: Red
2009 Château de la Tour, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Intense mid rubyintense colour. Ripe, aromatic, heady (almost hedonistic?) nose, showing some forest floor and fresh leather notes. Big, ripe and bold, this is something of a statement wine. It’s arguably a little simple, reflecting the vintage as much as the terroir. The wine is ripe, with plenty of extraction and a slightly hot, dry finish.
2009 Henri Rebourseau, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Bright pale garnet-ruby. Closed with some reduction and very little fruit on the nose. Hint of rhubarb on the palate, tannic with high acid. Rather scrawny, with almost Italianate levels of acidity and very little flesh or sweet fruit. More like a 2008 than a 2009.
2009 Domaine de l'Espigouette for Harvey Nichols, Plan de Dieu, Côtes du Rhône Villages
( £12.50, 14.5, Harvey Nichols )A really first class Rhône blend specially blended for Harvey Nichols by Domaine de l’Espigouette. It’s a spicy, full-throated number from a warm vintage, based on Grenache but with 15% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre for support and complexity. It’s still youthful (though very drinkable) with dense black fruits, lovely balance and the sort of perfume that really reminds you of the south of France. Heady stuff.
2009 Domaine du Clos Frantin, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Youthful, pale ruby-garnet colour, scented red fruits, elegant with a touch oak. Still very young, with marked tannins (for Pinot and this vintage) on the palate and succulent, sweet fruit. Good acidity, very fine, good ageing potential.
2009 Faiveley, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Mid garnet, pale rim. Still quite closed. Red cherry and some Asian spices on the nose. Quite a powerrfu, dense wines with plenty of tannin and oak. Ripe and silky, very well rounded with good ageing potential. Textured and plush, this underlines recent improvements at this Nuits St Georges-based négociant house.
2008 Can Sais Expressio, Empordà
( E35, 15%, El Celler Petit )The price is certainly ambitious, but it’s matched by the scarcity (only 845 bottles made) and the very ow yields (less than half a kilo per vine). Marta Arenas’s pure Grenache is biodynamic and made without added sulphur. It’s a wild, complex wine with a faintly pruney note, sweet underlying red fruits and savoury tannins. It’s quite fragile, with a nod towards Pinot Noir, and a nip of volatility on the finish. Drink up as the tannnins are starting to dry on the finish.
2008 Sota els Angels Desea, Empordà
( E18, 13%, El Celler Petit )This is only the “entry point” wine from this new winery, but it still costs E18. It’s a biodynamic blend of Syrah, Merlot and Samsó, produced in a ripe, supple, fruit-packed style with lots of sweet, spicy blackberry fruit, aromas of incense and fresh herbs, subtle oak and a seamless integration of the three varieties. It’s lighter and fresher than it appears on the nose.
2009 AV Bodeguers Nereus, Empordà
( E12, 14.5%, El Celler Petit )Densely coloured, ripe, quite tannic and packed with structured red and black fruits. The wine isn’t subtle, but it’s certainly ambitious and made to last. Gutsy, with some spice, plummy, sweet fruit and grainy, yet firm tannins. The oak is a little drying on the finish.
2010 Lavinyeta Punt i apart, Empordà
( E12, 14.5%, El Celler Petit )There’s no mistaking the main grape here (Cabernet Sauvignon, to the tune of 85%), but it doesn’t taste like a Cab made anywhere else. The closest affinity would be with Tuscany (Bolgheri), but even that doesn’t quite express the wine’s personality. It’s a very polished wine, with well integrated, smoky oak, toasty, great structure, fresh acidity, dark fruits and a fine, savoury, minty finish. The Samsó adds a wild, appealingly rustic note. A bit of rough perhaps?
2007 Marti Fabra Masia Carreras, Empordà
( E18, 15%, El Celler Petit )The first thing you notice about this wine on the nose is the oak. And the impression doesn’t change on the palate. And yet there is a lot of wine behind the staves: a wild, herby, spicy, minerally red based on Samsó with a bit of Merlot for extra padding. I’d be tempted to give this some time in bottle, because it’s got wonderful freshness and minerality and a dense, complex finish. You don’t notice the high alcohol, although this is certainly a ripe style.
2008 Vinyes dels Aspres S'Alou, Empordà
( E24, 15%, El Celler Petit )Sourced from the oldest vines on the property, David Molas’ Grenache-based red is strongly marked by Syrah on the nose and palate. The granite soils and high altitude give the wine real freshness and minerality, despite the high alcohol. Perfumed, with violets and liquorice on the nose, sweet blackberry fruit, supple, grainy tannins and a lift of herbal spice.