Tasting Notes: Saint-Romain from Buisson

In case you missed last Saturday's tasting:

Saint Romain Blanc “La Perriere” 2005: This wine announces itself with bright, fresh aromatic notes of freshly mowed hay, as well as chlorophyll. A high-toned, almost celery-like bouquet combines with wonderful minerality. The acidity is very uplifting but fully integrated into the wine. On the palate there is great stony concentration but no sense of weight at all. Lime-like fruit wraps around pebbly minerality. The flavors linger a long time on the palate… somewhat reminiscent of Corton Charlemagne. This is a brilliant wine!

Saint Romain Blanc “Sous la Velle” 2006: There is considerably more weight to this second bottling. Far richer and more youthfully opulent with notes of hay, grass and earthier elements, the wine initially seems lower in acidity due to the far greater concentration. Again, green chlorophyll notes combine with a dense more clay-like minerality. Tons of material, after some aeration there were hints of acacia honey on the palate.

Saint Romain Rouge “Sous Roche” 2004: One is immediately hit with a bouquet of meaty, red cherry fruit… explosive perfume! The aromas are on the earthier side with hints of brick and a high toned cedar note that brings Nebbiolo to mind. On the palate the wine is still tightly knit, there is a touch of green hinting at some underipe grapes, but this should resolve over time. Later on, secondary aromatics of red cherry and coffee grounds come up. Currently the wine is somewhat angular on the palate. Right now it’s all about aromatics, but with some time in bottle the rough edges will smooth out.

Saint Romain Rouge “Sous Roche” 2005: First aromatic impressions are of dark and meaty fruit (Cotes de Nuits like), roasted coffee grounds and a core of minerality down deep. After aeration the fruit gets fresher with red and black cherry and spice notes. On the palate the wine is very tight and restrained with some tannins and less fruit in evidence. Later I got deep dark plum-like fruit. The wine softened up showing more weight and texture on the nose and palate too. Overall this wine is structured for the long haul, tight, concentrated with a strong core of mineral and fruit; it’s all there, but needs lots of time to come around fully.

New Arrival: Chateau Simone

This historic estate, situated in the hills just south of Aix-en-Provence, has been in the hands of the Rougier family for two centuries and holds a virtual monopoly on the appellation of Palette. Chateau Simone encompasses twenty hectares of vineyards that sit at elevations between 500 and 750 feet above sea level. The special micro-climate of this appellation is influenced by the encircling pine forests, the mass of Mont Sainte Victoire, and the Arc river. The vineyards were reconstituted after the invasion of phylloxera, and many vines are over a century old. The Rougiers maintain the particular vinification methods developed and cherished over many decades. For those of you who are not familiar with these wines, whether rouge, blanc or rosé, we believe you will find them to be compelling and unique.

Our first release from Chateau Simone is the Palette Rouge 2004 which is due to the first week of March. The red from Simone is primarily composed of Grenache, Mourvedre and Cinsault but its special character reflects the presence of at least ten other grape varieties, albeit in small proportion, including syrah, manosquin, carignan, castet, cabernet sauvignon and muscat noir. The 2004 vintage is an elegant yet well-constituted wine of great depth. Bottled after three years of aging in foudres and barriques, it is a classic that deserves to be aged in order to best appreciate its many nuances: plum, pine resin, cinnamon, truffle and spice among other sensations.

Chateau Simone, Palette Rouge 2004
$70/btl

Tasting Notes: Chinon from Olek-Mery

Chinon Blanc “Les Tireaux” 2005: This wine should have special operating notes attached — one can never fully appreciate or understand certain wines by doing a rapid “drive-by” tasting. Upon opening, there is a smoky, funky bouquet and a hint of sulfur. The fruit components are quite restrained on the nose and the palate. Underneath all that, however, is a wine of considerable weight and power, showing minerals and hints of tropicality and honey. The finish was somewhat disconcerting at first with a distinct bitterness. Later on that evening the sulfur had pretty much blown off and the bitterness had opened up to reveal a tight core of intense minerality… like lemons and stones. The last glass from the bottle was quite hazy, indicating that the wine is probably not filtered. This is a wine of great substance with a meaty earthiness to it that quite differentiates it from its Vouvray relatives to the east.

Chinon “Les Tireaux” 2005: Immediately upon opening, you get an explosive whiff of black cherry and hints of a dark forest. In spite of its ripeness you get a sense of coolness with notes of eucalyptus and mint. The wine is soft and rich at first, but you quickly see serious gritty tannins and a solid core of fruit to back up one’s initial impression. This wine can definitely stand some additional aging. Later on the tannins and fruit resolved and pulled into focus with a bell pepper brightness that lifted the dark fruit and hints of graphite that began to emerge. This is a great wine that can stand up easily to a Bordeaux costing 50% more.

Chinon “Les Tireaux” 2004: This was certainly the most classically proportioned wine of the day. 2004 was clearly cooler and it shows in the wine’s balance and elegance. Cool violet and black cherry fruit is seamlessly married to minerals and those dark forest notes. As this wine did not reach the levels of ripeness found in the 2005 you are able to see more of that green (this is not to say unpleasant or unripe) pepper, chlorophyll note that marks Cabernet Franc in this region. While some tannins are noticeable, the overarching sense was that of seamlessness and symmetry…. perhaps the best wine to drink right now.

Chinon “Les Tireaux-Vieilles Vignes” 2001: My first notes say “woodsy, dusty and elegant”. This old vines bottling is not as thickly textured, on the nose as well as palate, as the 2005. Once again there is a coolness and hint of menthol that shows as the fruit ceases to be the primary note, and one is left with those drier dusty-but-elegant tannins. Initially the wine seemed to be getting short on fruit but after several hours a deep violet bouquet emerged. A core of dark, dried essence of cassis married with that fascinating graphite nose — reminiscent of an older St. Estephe. This is an endlessly elegant and refined wine that brought to mind a vision of a well turned out elderly gentleman with a cane. For those of you in the New York City environs, go to the Irving Penn show at the Morgan Library and look at the portrait of Jean Cocteau. Then go home and open a bottle of this 2001. With or without the cane, you’ll see what I mean.