The unavoidable trio:
Champagne, Burgundy, and Bordeaux.
No matter what, most Sommeliers I know always end up with this combination at some point or another.
Of course, a Sommelier can always venture into other classic wine regions to find some great wines (often at lesser prices) in France (e.g., Loire, Rhone, Jura, Alsace, Languedoc-Roussillon, South-West, etc...) or expand its choices to Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, or even California, Oregon, and why not South America, South Africa, Australia, and even New Zealand.
And yet, most Sommeliers I know (French or not) will always go back to the classics of Champagne, Burgundy (white & red), and Bordeaux (primarily for red). It is an undeniable fact!
Why? Because no matter what people may say or think, it always works!
Ok, I admit that you or the host can only do it amid being able to spend a certain budget, but still, this unavoidable trio usually pleases everyone.
I mean, what's not to like?
Everyone loves a good glass of champagne to start with. White Burgundy wines are perfect for appetizers, starters, shellfish, fish, and white meat dishes (and cheese!).
And, despite everyone complaining about the fact that there are too many to choose from and their prices (even though there are some excellent bargains to be found in Bordeaux), a good red wine from Bordeaux is always a crowd-pleaser!
Henriot Champagne Millesime 2008
I have said it before: Henriot is one of my favorite champagne houses. Is it the richest or the most complex? No. Yet, their Cuvées are really good, well-priced, and reliable. And this 2008 vintage was a great example.
A blend of 100% Premier and Grand Cru grapes, consisting of 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir, aged for a minimum of six years on the lees, with a dosage of at least 6g/l, the Henriot Millesime 2008 reflects the outstanding quality of the vintage. This is also an important vintage that has received more attention than previous ones in the vineyard and the cellar, as it marks the 200th anniversary of Maison Henriot (1808-2008).
In the glass, it displays an attractive pale golden color with tiny, delicate bubbles. The nose boasts fresh citrus and yellow fruit aromas, floral and mineral notes, and hints of honey and toasted bread. The palate is fresh and light, yet complex, elegant, and finely structured, offering enticing flavors of citrus and yellow fruits developing with a silky texture, balanced by excellent acidity and minerality from the attack to the mid-palate, leading toward the long and refreshing finish. Love it.
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Chateau de Meursault Meursault-Perrieres Premier Cru Burgundy 2019
Situated in the village of Meursault in the heart of the Côte de Beaune, Château de Meursault has a vineyard history spanning a thousand years, dating back to the 11th century. The estate owns and produces wines from Meursault, Pommard, Puligny-Montrachet, Beaune, and Corton. Its 67 hectares of vineyards are spread over a hundred plots, including 6 Grands Crus, 20 Premiers Crus, and about a dozen village and regional appellations like Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Volnay, and Pommard.
The estate in Meursault spans 10 hectares and includes the Château, a stunning 18th-century Italian-inspired building fully renovated in 2024, a conservatory, and a botanical park. Additionally, 8 hectares are dedicated to the Chateau's flagship vineyard, the "Clos du Château," surrounded by a dry-stone wall. The entire estate is committed to biodiversity and sustainable development.
The estate also has magnificent Cistercian cellars, excavated from the 12th to the 19th centuries, covering 3,500 m² beneath the Château and its outbuildings. The larger cellar and the former winery are currently being renovated and will be utilized to vinify red wines from the 2026 harvest.
Classified as a "Meursault Premier Cru," this "Meursault-Perrières" is produced from two parcels totaling 1.12 Hectares (2.7 acres), planted with Chardonnay on a hill's mid-slope on hard Jurassic limestone, with east/south-east exposure, located south of the village of Meursault. This warm area in the vineyard is where the limestone brings minerality and balance to the wine.
The vineyard was named "Perrières" after the ancient quarries (which still exist and are visible), where limestone was extracted to build the various buildings of the surrounding villages. This limestone soil imparts a dense and mineral character to the wine.
After manual sorting, pressing, and settling, alcoholic fermentation in oak barrels lasts about 10 days. The wine is then aged on lees for 18 months, with 33% of the barrels being new and the others being one or two years old. The lees are stirred twice a month during the first six months, enhancing richness and complexity.
In the glass, the Chateau de Meursault Meursault-Perrieres 2019 is a brilliant, pale yellow with golden and green reflections. The nose displays aromas of yellow fruits mingling with mineral, floral, and citrusy notes and oaky, toasted hints. The palate is surprisingly fresh and light, with razor-sharp, zesty, limey acidity, yellow fruits, and citrus expanding nicely and generously from the attack to the mid-palate. The finish is long and mineral.
Although generous and zesty, it lacks a bit of the amplitude and the oaky, buttery coating effect I usually like to taste in Meursault. Yet it compensates it with its freshness, sharpness, focus, and minerality. Nicely done.
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Chateau L'Evangile Pomerol Bordeaux 2016
Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite acquired L’Évangile in 1990 from the Ducasse family, who wanted to ensure the estate's continuity of care and sustainability.
Chateau L’Evangile is a house made from Bordeaux limestones in the heart of the vineyards, where bees, horses, winegrowers, and farmers congregate. It is the first estate among the Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite to employ organic farming methods.
All the vines have been replanted and are adapting well on this plateau located southeast of Pomerol, which features a unique geological anomaly: a long strip of gravel, a rare soil on which the vineyard of Château L’Évangile thrives.
The vineyard enjoys an excellent location. It is bordered to the north by the vines of Château Pétrus and separated by a small road from Cheval Blanc in Saint-Émilion to the south. It consists of 22 hectares, with 43 plots named after their environment (Maison, Cuvier), locality (Catusseau, Chantecaille, Jean Faure), or layout (La Pointe).
The vineyard is divided into three different terroirs. The top of the plateau consists of “Pelosol,” characterized by swelling clays. In the middle, the soils are mainly gravel-clay and gravel-sand. Finally, the soil is predominantly sandy in the lower section of the appellation.
The vineyard is mainly planted with Merlot (79%), complemented by Cabernet Franc (20%) and a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon (1%). The plots are largely covered in grass. The property also features beehives and supports significant biodiversity along its 2 km of hedges.
Since 2020, Domaines Barons de Lafite Rothschild has entrusted the estate's management to Juliette Couderc.
Chateau L’Évangile 2016 is a blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, aged for 18 months in new oak barrels made by the Tonnellerie des Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) in Pauillac.
The winter of 2016 was the warmest and rainiest ever recorded! Bud break occurred at the end of March, and mid-flowering happened on June 5. The summer was hot and very dry. Fortunately, the water reserves accumulated during winter kept the vines from suffering any stress, but as a result, yields at Evangile were quite low for this vintage. The grapes finished ripening in September in mild weather, with some rain and cool nights, which preserved the grapes’ freshness and produced an exceptional vintage.
When I opened the wine, the cork smelled nice, yet it appeared subdued once in the glass. I proceeded to the “avinage” of the decanter, then decanted it and let it rest. In the glass, it displayed a dark color with violet reflections. The nose started to reveal itself and gained intensity, boasting fresh black fruits, berries aromas, earthy, floral, mineral notes, and hints of spices and oak. On the palate, the attack was fresh and relatively light. The mid-palate appeared a bit fuller with a silky texture, fairly well balanced between the fruit, acidity, and tannins, yet it lacked substance for my palate. The finish was quite short with slightly green, vegetal hints.
Aparte on the Chateau L'Evangile 2016
Strange, as it definitely contrasted with the scores and reviews I had read about it. Most critics and even the Chateau’s website talk about a full-bodied, generous, ripe, dark, intense, and powerful wine. This is not what I tasted that day.
I even tasted it more than 2 hours after decanting, and it did not gain much power or density. As I wanted to make sure it was not my palate, I had two colleagues taste it, and they also came to the same conclusion: relatively lean, short, slightly vegetal on the finish. It is not worth the 95-100 point range from the various critics (in our opinion).
Yet, the bottle had a good provenance and spent the last four years in the cellar. Was it in a down phase that day? Does it need more time to open in the decanter? It seems strange, as I usually like Chateau l’Evangile, and 2016 in Bordeaux is a really good, fresh, and very approachable vintage, based on my experience of all the 2016 Bordeaux wines I opened recently.
It was a little disappointing, as I opened this bottle of Chateau L’Evangile 2016 only after I had opened Chateau Lafite 2015 (same ownership) a few days earlier, which also disappointed me and definitely not worth the price and scores (see my previous post for comments and description on Lafite 2015).
Is it just me? Obviously not, as in both cases, I had my colleagues tasting them.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Cheers! Santé!
Dom
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