Life is too short to drink bad wine

Popped into Nicolas and found this bottle which is one of the best Premier Cru from Beaune. Although I am not a fan of the big houses like Bouchard which had produced the wine, I was pleasantly surprised. the wine had a medium red colour with a very nice smell of berry fruits(strawberries) chocolate and earth. The taste was very smooth and silky with a long aftertaste. A very seductive wine indeed! Beaune 1er cru "Clos de la Mousse" 2004 by Bouchard €26 P+ or 17,6points 100% Pinot Noir    http://www.bouchard-pereetfils.com/en/fiches/Beaune_Clo_Mousse.pdf

This is a small village just a few kilometers northwest of Beaune itself. Its on the left when coming down on A6 from Paris. Its located in a valley separating Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits. The wines from this charming little village are best known as light red berry fruit wines with often a pale red colour. The vines facing northwards gives lighter ready to drink wines while those grapes grown facing south give richer and more age worthy wines. In Savigny les Beaune there are no Grand Cru but 11 Premier Cru vineyards. The beauty of reds from Savigny les Beaune is that you dont have to rob a bank to obtain a bottle.  The wines are cheaper than its neighbours but gives good value for money if you like a more feminin type of Burgundy wine. Ther are lots of good producers and the ones we have good experience with and which have provided good value for money are; Cathrine & Claude Marechal (in Bligny les Beaune) for ex Vielles Vignes Chandon de Briailles (in the tow...

This is not a famous Burgundy appelation, but as it is neighbour to two of the most famous white wine appelations Puligny Montrachet and Chassagne Montrachet, one can expect to find some great white wines here. There are no grand cru, but ten premier cru. The prices are less than its neighbouring wines and it is the white wine which makes it worthwhile buying St. Aubin. We have recently tested quite a few of the white wines of Hubert Lamy, which must be regarded as one of the best producers in St.Aubin. Below is a list of the wines that are all very very good and elegant wines well worth buying. St.Aubin 1er cru "En Remilly" 2005 € 27 Great smell of lime, butter and minerals, "golden" taste  score 18,7 St.Aubin 1er cru "Les Frionnes" 2006 €32 Pale straw colour, apples, minerals, oak, fantastic taste, perfect white Score 18,6 St.Aubin 1er cru "La Chateniere" 2006 €36 Lime, apples, minerals, with long velvety taste another top white Score 18,6 ...

This is a very special wine. It was founded in 1930 by Gaston Hochar in an 18th century castle located in Ghazir, 15 miles north of Beirut. During the war years in Lebanon, Chateau Musar managed to consistently produce high quality wine, leading the "Wine Spectator" magazine to use headlines such as: "Chateau Musar makes great, age worthy reds amid the chaos of Lebanon's civil war". Chateau Musar attained international recognition during the wine fair of Bristol in England in 1979, where a specialised press named it the "find of the fair". Following this event, Chateau Musar's reputation reconfirmed itself in most other European countries, as well as in the United States, Canada, and in some Asian Countries. Decanter Magazine paid tribute to Serge Hochar's achievements by nominating him "Decanter Man of the Year" in 1984. Today, thanks to the audience Chateau Musar has attracted and its reputation in the international press, Lebanese...

Hubert Lamy is emerging as one of my favourites in Burgundy for production of white wines. When we were back in Norway we had a bottle of the St Aubin En Remilly for a sunny lunch overlooking the fjord. It was a truly spectacular moment. Nice food, nice weather, nice view, beautiful nature, holiday and a fantastic glass of Burgundy white. The experience was wonderful! So back in Paris we were trying to get hold of some more of these precious bottles and found a wine merchant in Neuilly who had some of Hubert Lamy´s collection. So again at lunch time we tried another of Lamy St.Aubin, this time the one called Les Frionnes 2006. Once again the flavours of the wine and the beautiful balanced taste gives you a wonderful moment. Apples, citrus fruits, oak well integrated with a long long fruity glycerin like taste. Just fantastic! There is something about his wines that makes you remember them better than other wines in the same quality range! A must if you havent tried dry burg...

En primeur tastings took place early June at cave Bourdin. Its a difficult year for Bordeaux but an excellent year for the southern of Rhone, Ch Neuf du Pape and Provence because it is not too hot. En primeur tastings are difficult because it is not the final product you taste, it is just something taken out of the oak barrel before it is ready for bottling. It is as such hard to appreciate the true quality of the wine. The prices are again very high and it seems like the producers are trying to profit from the highly rated 2005 still. Personally for Bordeaux wines I would buy the 2004 vintage which is more reasonable and probably of better quality than 2007. For the south it is difficult to resist wines from Bandol and  Chateauneuf du Pape with such prime quality wines expected to arrive in 2009.  Especially the Mourvedre grape in Bandol seems to have enjoyed 2007 and the prices of bandol are reasonable compared to other appelations.   

This is one of two second wines of the famous and expensive Ch. Pape Clement in Graves. Although young,  2004, this wine drinks really well already if you put it on carafe a couple of hours before consumption. Dark red colour, with a very attractive smell of blueberries and dark berries, its a full bodied wine with firm but nice tannins that goes best with some food. 2004 although not the best of vintages, keep surprising me with good drinkable wines at affordable prices, because from 2005 and onwards there is a big step up in prices.... Grapes; Cabernet Sauvignon 60% and Merlot 40% Price around 20€ P+