LeDomduVin: Déjà vu! Déjà bu!

Déjà vu! Déjà bu! 😉

As with all things in life: “Quand on aime, on ne compte pas!" (which translates to “When you love, you do not count the cost or the numbers!). Well, it's the same for wines!

As a private and corporate sommelier, I usually buy in small quantities and only according to the needs of the different dinners and events for which I buy, prepare, taste, and serve the wines.

Of course, anticipating the unexpected is essential, so I always buy one or two more bottles of each wine in case there are more guests than expected. 

As a result, I sometimes serve the same wines at different dinners or events that follow one another. Hence, the title of this post: "Deja vu! Deja bu!" ("Already seen! Already Drank."), because I have already served these wines in the picture a few times in the past few weeks. And this was the case again that evening.

I like to start the evening with Dom Perignon 2013 as an aperitif and with the first starter. In the last few weeks, I have opened a few bottles, and I really like this vintage: fresh, light, dry, mineral, and slightly toasted. Perfect to start a good meal.

Those following me are probably tired of seeing bottles of Bachelet-Monnot Puligny-Montrachet on many of my posts. But it's stronger than me. I love this producer; his wines are so good I can't resist serving them frequently. They are ample, generous, and smooth, with that glycerine sensation that coats the palate and makes you salivate with envy. I love it.

I opened a bottle of Domaine Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin 2010 a few days earlier and found it so delicious that I wanted to taste it again. It was a wise choice as it gave me the same pleasure as the previous time.

Never mind if I have already seen, tasted, and served them before; I never get tired of good things and good wines!😉😁👍🍷

NB: see my previous posts on my blog for tasting notes here (for Faiveley) and here (for Dom Perignon and Bachelet Monnot)

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Palatable wines

Palatable wines

Serving great wines around 150 euros can be difficult, as there are many wines in this price range (and under, of course) from around the world. 

Yet, when the host asks for recognizable French labels or crus, my selection usually goes for Champagne, Burgundy, and/or Bordeaux, which constitute about 90% of the wines I buy (and have been buying throughout my 33-year Sommelier and Wine buyer career). 

Navigating the myriad of producers in these 3 regions can be challenging, so I always try to find the best quality-price ratio within the portfolios of my local suppliers. The most palatable wines to match the menu.   

That night I opened: 

Champagne Dom Perignon Vintage 2013

Light, dry, crisp, fresh, zesty, lightly toasted, and mineral, it is well-balanced and satisfying. Ideal as an aperitif and with fish or shellfish starters. A quaffer! 

Bachelet-Monnot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Referts" Burgundy 2019

I do not know what it is or how to describe it, but there is an indescribable sense of minerality and purity in Bachelet-Monnot's wines that I have always loved. Nothing is in excess in their wines.  And this Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Referts" is yet another great example of it. Lightly buttery, mineral, waxy, ample, and generous, with yellow stone fruits and apple aromas and flavors, exceptionally well balanced and lingering. Definitely the type of wine that makes you want to love wine. The first glass is immediately calling for the second.  Loved it.       

Domaine Humbert Freres Charmes-Chambertin Burgundy 2018

I have opened several bottles of this particular wine lately, and it has been excellent every time.  Showing remarkable consistency and potential. Is it the best Charmes-Chambertin I have ever tasted? No, but within this price range (140-150 Euros), it is definitely a great contender! Rich and generous, balanced with ripe dark and red cherry, earthy and mineral notes, refreshing acidity, and a lingering finish. The other day, one bottle was only half consumed; I revisited it 2 days later, and although slightly oxidized, it was still excellent.  What more to ask?     

Cheers! Sante!

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Mise en place! What a line-up!

Mise en place! What a line-up! 

I know, I constantly repeat myself, yet it is true: I'm one of the luckiest Sommeliers I know. 

I mean, look at these wines! Isn't it amazing? 

How many Sommeliers can pretend to prepare, open, taste, and serve such gems regularly? Not many, for sure. 

These were part of a recent "mise en place" for a few private lunches and dinners (in the order of the pictures):

Champagne Jacques Selosse VO "Version Originale" Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut NV (disgorged in Nov 2019)

Jean-Claude Ramonet Bienvenues Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru Burgundy 2018

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru Burgundy 2019

Champagne Krug "Clos du Mesnil" Blanc de Blancs Brut 2006

Domaine Anne Gros Richebourg Grand Cru Burgundy 2020

Chateau Latour Premier Grand Cru Classe Pauillac Bordeaux 2005

Domaine William Fevre Chablis Premier Cru "Montmains" Burgundy 2019

Bachelet-Monnot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Hameau de Blagny" Burgundy 2018

Domaine Delaporte Sancerre Rouge "Silex" Loire Valley 2020

Such a great line-up of excellent wines! It makes me drool just looking at these bottles. 

In my next posts, I'll tell you about the ones I opened, tasted, and served. 

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Good value-for-money wines!

Good value-for-money wines!

Well... Good "value-for-money" is all relative and not applicable to everyone. These wines may still be expensive for the average consumer, ranging between 150 and 200 Euros per bottle.

Ultimately, purchasing them depends on your wine budget and your ability. Yet, compared to the wines I usually open, these wines offer good value for money.

Dom Perignon 2013

Fresh, light, crisp, zesty, mineral, and overall good. Yet, it's somewhat short in the finish (IMO). I preferred the 2012 vintage.

Bachelet-Monnot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Referts” 2019

I love Bachelet-Monnot’s wines. Fresh, light, crisp, zesty, lemony, mineral aromas and flavors mingle with delicate, oaky, buttery notes. A bit tight at the opening, it should be opened in advance or decanted to display its full palette. Soft, gentle, generous, ample, chiseled, and nicely expanding to the long finish. Loved it.

Domaine Humbert Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2018

This is a great entry-level “Charmes-Chambertin” and a steal at this price. Lighter is not as opulent or complex as some of its peers, usually twice or thrice the price. Yet, the nose offers many aromas and perfumes: blackcurrant, dark cherries, and floral notes combined with earthy, smoky nuances. The palate is relatively light in weight and texture yet well-balanced and vibrant due to great acidity, enough fruit ripeness, and a good grip of integrated tannins to give you something to chew on. Loved it.

Chateau Haut-Bailly Grand Cru Classé de Graves 2009

I love Haut-Bailly. It is one of my favorite Pessac-Leognan. Beyond its opaque color, it boasts enticing blackcurrants and blackberry aromas mixed with a medley of earth, graphite, tobacco, and spice. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is at the same time dark, ripe, rich, layered, elegant, generous, and complex, with a great structure and texture, a long finish, and some tannins that will need a bit more time to integrate. I had to double-decant it to give a boost and clear out of the sediments, too. It mellowed down after 20 minutes. Loved it.

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Nice lineup again

Nice lineup again

The other day, I opened these bottles for a private dinner. They showed really nicely. 

Dom Perignon 2013

Fresh, crisp, elegant, racy, it is lighter, less rich and less textured than the 2012 (IMO), yet nice density and structure with refreshing acidity, boasting floral and mineral aromas and flavours with yellow fruits and yeasty nuances. Perfect as an aperitif and with light appetizers. 

Bachelet-Monnot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts 2019

Over the last 2 years, I have learned to greatly appreciate this producer. I'm very fond of their wines, which combine elegance and finesse in a refined, complex and detailed way, combining fruit and mineral aromas with floral scent and lightly oaky, buttery notes. They are never too extracted, overripe, rich, or buttery, a sign of skilled craftsmanship. And this Puligny Les Referts is a good example of it. It was delightful. Decanting is recommended. 

Château Pichon Baron Pauillac 2010

Pichon Baron is one of my favourite Pauillac wines since I discovered it more in-depth through multiple visits during the En Primeur in the early 2000s. I have even slept at the Chateaux a few times. Over the last 20 years, like many people, I have witnessed its rise from a discreet and underrated wine to the proud and luxurious wine it has become. The 2010 has been drinking beautifully over the past few years, yet has the potential to develop further for many years. Ripe, concentrated, rich, complex, ample, generous, displaying lots of ripe dark cherries and berries with earthy and oaky nuances, it is well balanced, with enough acidity to keep it fresh and a good grip of integrated, yet present, ripe tannins. The long finish immediately calls for another glass. It showed even better after about 1 hour of decanting as the tannins and earthiness mellowed down. Loved it. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Tasting Session

Tasting session 

I selected these wines for an event coming up soon and we tasted them today, for the lunch, as a pre-event food & wine pairing tasting session. 

I was confident that they will taste well, as I tried them all before, yet, they showed even better than I remembered. 

More especially La Mission Haut-Brion 2012, showed beautifully after 2 hours of decanting, while I had some concerns as it is a lesser vintage and still tasted very tight less than a year ago.

Champagne Henriot Brut Souverain NV

Nice, soft, gentle, simple, clean, quaffable, nothing extravagant, just a good entry-level Champagne.

Domaine William Fevre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros “Côte Bouguerots” 2016

Light yellow color with green nuances. Fresh, clean nose, mineral, white and yellow stone fruits, lemony aromas, with light buttery notes. Fresh, clean, and zesty on the palate, focus and steely with razor-sharp acidity, balanced, light and limpid, cleansing. Loved it. 

Bachelet-Monnot Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru “Les Referts” 2019

Attractive pale golden color. Beautiful nose with mineral, floral, and white stone fruits aromas, with some yellow fruits nuances. The palate is dense, ample, generous, nicely expanding, and coating, with that mineral glycerin sensation that makes you salivate and want more of it. Gorgeous wine. Loved it. 

Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan 2012

2+ hours of decanting and a few more swirls in the glass were necessary for this sleeping beauty to reveal itself, but when it did, it showed all the complexity, charm, elegance, and distinction La Mission is known for. Rich, complex, layered, long, satisfying, and fulfilling. Loved it. 

And, once again, it comforted the fact that great Bordeaux can be made even in lesser vintages if you’re patient enough to give them a chance. 

In any case, both Chateau Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, which are my favorite Bordeaux, always take 10-15 years to reach their ideal window of drinkability and can last for decades after that. 

Once again, I was really pleased with my selection and everyone at the table concurred. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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Unless stated otherwise, all right reserved ©LeDomduVin 2023, on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).