WSET Diploma

“There’s Too Much Love” – Belle and Sebastian: Phillipe Girard 2010 “Les Lavières” Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru

Phillipe Girard 2010 "Les Lavières" Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 8: Burgundy]

The next two wines we tasted were both Pinot Noirs from two different halves of the Côte d’Or – this one was from the Côte de Beaune in the south, while the next one was a Chambertin from the Côte de Nuits in the north.

Lighter and more driven by flowers, strawberries, and red cherries compared to the Chambertin. It’s often said that Pinot Noir from the Côte de Beaune creates wines that are lighter, fruitier, and prone to earlier maturation than that of the north. Much more pure in fruit than the basic Burgundy we tried a couple of wines before, if you were to compare the first wine to blurry vision à la Velma losing her glasses, and then this wine to putting on a stylin’ pair.… read more

WSET Diploma

White Swan: Domaine Christian Moreau 2012 Valmur Chablis Grand Cru

Domaine Christian Moreau 2012 Valmur Chablis Grand Cru[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 8: Burgundy]

Chablis, to me, is the pinnacle of perfection: not so much in a sense that it’s a wine that’s perfect and orgasmic, but more the fact that it strives to be something so pristine, crisp, calm, and complex, not unlike a snowflake.

The White Swan i.e. Nina Sayers comes to mind, where perfection is bitingly found but the wine is almost too young and needs lots of time to develop. Crisp notes of mineral, green apple, pear, a hint of oak (purportedly), cream, and something reminiscent to Loire Chenin that’s very wool and mushroom-like are found on the nose, and the palate reverberates the flavours with more intensity.

There’s a beautiful juxtaposition of young richness and brisk acid; a concentration of flavours that have lots of finesse.… read more

WSET Diploma

A scratched Frank Sinatra record: Vignerons de Buxy 2012 Buissonnier Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Pinot Noir

Vignerons de Buxy 2012 Buissonnier Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Pinot Noir[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 8: Burgundy]

Not bad, at first glance, but then wildly simple when compared to the Savigny-Lès-Beaune and Chambertin. Much more charming on the nose than on the palate, where simple red fruits, earth, and a bit of flowers and vanilla were a bit more shrouded and quiet on the palate.

Similarly to the first wine, there was a bit of sulphited character that was more evident compared to the other red wines in the flight, but it also could have been so because of the lack of intensity. Not really noticeable until we did a side-by-side sort of thing.

Sort of like a faded Sinatra record, where there are hints of allure but you don’t really get the true magic of the grape.… read more