Life is too short to drink bad wine

After two glorious sunny days and temperatures up to 20c it was Norwegian spring yesterday: bucketing rain and 9c. It only lasted for some hours with the sun returning in the afternoon. Found a 2003 Pomerol in the cellar, Ch. de Sales is a solid less expensive version of this Merlot dominated wine, perfect with the "confit de canard". Plummy earthy with lots of fruit and soft tannins. At around 20€  this is good value for money! Lets Easter begin. Ch de Sales 2003, Pomerol, perfect for "cold" evenings......

Easter holiday in Antibes. Found a bottle of Lynx (South Africa) Viognier in the cave. Distant memories from our trip to South Africa last year. While the Brann players snowed down in Bergen we were sipping "Condrieu" like white wine on the terrace. The wine with medium yellow colour had a great perfumed smell of lychees ans rose petals. Dry, but great fruit and acidity. Lovely stuff and if memory does not serve me wrong, the price was 8 € and not 30 as it would be for a Condrieu! Thank you Dieter! Lynx Viognier 2007 8€, South Africas reply to Condrieu! http://www.lynxwines.co.za/our_wines.html

Easter soon. Found this Corton in the local shop. Grand Cru and a producer with a posh name. Posh price as well. Medium dark red colour with nice earthy smell of red berries. Velvety taste. Well balanced. Easy too drink. Somehow though it lacks the silkyness of Chambolle, the fatness of Beaune 1er cru, the acidity of Volnay. Its very good but somehow a bit boring, lacks a bit of character! Corton Grand Cru "Les Renardes" 2004 Prince Florent de Merode, very good but a bit boring....

The village Chambolle Musigny from Patrice Rion is fabulous and trying this 1er cru from the same appelation and producer  was a step up in quality and price. The wine was medium deep dark red with a wonderful of dark berries and cherry pie. Wonderful bouquet! Stunning! The taste was perfectly balanced with lovely fruit and long firm finish. Great and impressive. Unfortunately so is the price: 40€ from the producer, so one can imagine the prices in Paris or Norway... Chambolle Musigny 2004 "Charmes" Patrice Rion Great stuff, unforgettable and to be stored 5 to 8 years Domaine Michele et Patrice RION, vins de Bourgogne

Recioto from Valpolicella is a special sweet red wine that is perfect with chocolate or chocolate desserts. It is made out of grapes that has ben dried on the loft for months before being vinified. Yesterday at a restaurant we had chocloate mousse for dessert after a wonderful meal where white Meaursault from Jobard and Puligny Montrachet were consumed before opening a magnum Gevrey Chambertin 2005 with the venison. Magical stuff ! , but the wine moment of the evening was when a Recioto della Valpolicella by Accordini was opened and consumed with the mousse chocolat. Ah ! Sweet cherries and raisins with great acidity and cherry fruit all the way matching the dessert perfectly. Wonderful stuff! but the only bottle the restaurant had and they had had it since the opening in 2004! Recioto della Valpolicella 2001 Accordini, Veneto Unforgettable with choco!! 250 NOK or 25€ for 500ml Accordini Stefano: Recioto Classico Acinatico

When attending the Burgundy exhibition in Oslo back in February I was thoroughly impressed by the white wines from Lequin-Colin. Wonderful stuff! So a couple of white Burgundies were purchased, both Chassagne-Montrachet, but two different cru's: "Les Baudines" and "Clos Devant". Mouthwatering stuff both from the solid firm 2007 vintage. "Clos Devant" showed a pale straw colour with modest butter, lime and lots of sea and minerality on the nose. The taste was long, well balanced, dry but with perfect fruit and a "steel" character as well as delightful "fatness" from the oak. Wonderful ! Chassagne - Montrachet 2007 " Clos Devant" Lequin- Colin (NOK 270 or 25-35 €) Verdict: White wine don't get better than this, just more expensive! Lequin-Colin - Burgundy

The big melt down has started and maybe spring is on its way. A reduced panel and tasting menu, but quality always makes up for loss of quantity. Wine # 1 Medium red colour, nice fruity smell of red berries and perhaps hint of chocolate. Extremely well balanced wine with firm acidity, smooth tannins and a silky finish. Great stuff and definitely Burgundy according to the panel. Beaune 1er cru "Les Boucherottes" 2007 by Anne Gros, Score 18.00 260 nok or 20 to 30€ Wine # 2 Medium dark red colour with darker berries towards unripe blackberries, a bigger mouthful, but also well balanced. Smooth delicate tannins and good lenght. This wine can be can kept for a long time. Totally different from the first bottle, but still Burgundy, but where? Beaune1er cru "Les Boucherottes" 2005 by Anne Gros, Score 18.00 260 nok or 20 to 30€ Only difference was the vintage!!! Amazing to see the difference between a cold and warm year in Beaune..... Wine # 3 Medium deep red, lo

Vougeot is most known for its Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot with over 80 producers, but there are some basic Vougeot as well. One of the best is Clos de Prieure where Domaine de la Vougeraie has all the rights. 2007 is quite a stylish year in Burgundy, not too hot, but with lots of ripe fruit due to an early warm spring. The wine is medium dark red, lovely smell of cherries, raspberry and vanilla oak. Slightly minerally also. The wine has a lovely silky firm taste that is quite long and balances perfectly all the way through. Lovely stuff with a price that is not to scary! This is "poor" man's Clos de Vougeot ! Vougeot 2006 "Clos du Prieure" Domaine de la Vougeraie, 40 -50€, solide stuff! http://www.en.domainedelavougeraie.com/index.php?site_id=6&p=456

Four different red wines from the Bordeaux area were tasted. Prices ranging between 10 to 12 pound sterling. Chateau La Roche Gaby 2004, Canon Fronsac Medium red with high % of Merlot, but disappointing taste which is both tannic and acidic. Dying for food and in fact best with the cheese. Ch. Campillot 2005, Médoc Good acidity on this full bodied red. Soft tannins and a fine well balanced taste. Worth the money. Ch. Rousselle 2005, Côtes de Bourg Big and smooth. Silky tannins and a fine Bordeaux look alike. 2005 is a brilliant year also on the east banks. Well worth the money! Ch. Villa Bel-Air 2005, Graves The wine with highest Cab Sauvignon, but with the wine is full bodied with great soft silky tannins and a long lasting fruity taste. Great stuff. Lovely and well worth every penny....

Continuing down the Burgundy trail and focusing a bit on Volnay this reasonable village was found in the local shop last week. Olivier Leflaive, situated in the white wine village of Puligny Montrachet, used to work with Domaine Lefalive before staring on his own in 1985. He is predominately recognised for the white wines, but has over the years built up a reasonable portfolio of red Burgundies. His website is very good and he also runs a hotel. http://www.olivier-leflaive.com/ The Volnay 2006 is the basic Volnay in his selection, medium pale colour with nice discrete smell of red berries. The taste was firm, elegant and pure but quite acidic compared to for example Beaune 1er cru or Chambolle. This is, I believe, also many times the major difference  between Beaune and its neighbour just to the south. Volnay 2006, Olivier Leflaive, 30€ , reasonable but perhaps also forgetteable?

This is an ordinary white Saint Aubin created by Lequin Colin in Santenay. Pale yellow colour with a very nice nose of butter, lime, flowers and mineral tones. Lovely big firm acidic taste, good length with lime character. Very drinkable. Saint Aubin 2007 Lequin-Colin, "Cheap" very drinkable Saint Aubin ca 20 to 30€ Lequin-Colin - Bourgogne

Continuing down the Burgundy trail, I could not resist buying a 2005 1er cru from Chambolle Musigny at the wine shop yesterday. Nicolas Potel, the producer, is a young upcoming star and the 2005 was his first vintage ever. The wine had all the lovely Chambolle flavours of delicate red berries with streaks of wet wool, beautiful medium red colour. The taste showed lovely seductive fruit, but with a firm but charming taste that went on and on. Maybe not as wonderfully seductive as Patrice Rion village wine, but very similar but with perhaps more tannins and acidity, probably requires 5 to 6 more years to peak. Chambolle Musigny 2005 "Les Hauts Doix" by Nicolas Potel, firm silk all the way from one of the top Premier crus in Chambolle, 30 to 50€ Maison Nicolas Potel - Our Philosophy

Below is a map of the appelation Chambolle Musigny in Burgundy. This area to the north of Beaune is called Cote de Nuits. Chambolle is neighbour to the famous Vougeot. Many say that this commune produces the most delicate wines in Cote de Nuits and I find it difficult to disagree with this statement. These wines are certainly more perfumed, silky and subtle then many of their other neighbours like Vosne Romanee and Gevrey Chambertin. The commune has two Grand cru: Le Musigny and Bonnes Mares Then there 24 Premier crus covering 0,6 km2. The three best ones are probably those just across the road from the Grand crus: Les Amoureuses, Les Charmes and Les Hauts Doix. Once you know all this you just have to find the best produces for each of these plots. There are for example about 10 recommended producers just for the "Le Amoureuses". Tough job! (If you got enough money on your account....)