Our favourite wine producer from the Minervois, who has been drinking fine Burgundy for almost as long as we have been selling it, has sent over his impressions from our tasting last Thursday. Thank you Graham.
I was called at home one evening by Johnny Goedhuis – and frankly expecting to hear ghastly news at that time of day, i.e. that Private Reserves had been flooded out, that my Ponsot wines were duds (a legal process is going on in the US re fakes), but no. It was, instead, an invitation to taste their 2007 Burgundies. So, I cancelled Nobu and whisked round to their venue the next evening. And boy was it worth it.
Most expectations on 2007 Burgs, notably for the reds, were of under-ripe, thin and variable quality fruit, following a cool summer. Reality, from the first taste, was so very different. Goedhuis had a fabulous selection of red wines from some 16 growers and from some 15 white growers. And Goedhuis had at least 4-6 wines from many of the growers – and double that in many cases. Apparently, Johnny had driven round the collection van himself, pleading credit crunch poverty. Goedhuis certainly came up with the goods.
I tasted the reds first (in good Burgundy tradition). Looking at my notes, there is a constant repetition of “fresh, pure, fragrant, fruity…”, which is remarkable for Burgs so young and just bottled. Also, remarkable to my taste, is that, given the cool summer, the wines did not appear to be over-worked, but rather exuded a cleanliness and vitality. The growers would appear to have conducted a highly selective and gentle handling of fruit, rather than maximising yields. A year for both the viticulturist and cellar manager to work in tandem – and bravo! Favourite reds? Fourrier, Hudelot Noellat (11 samples!), Meo-Camuzet and Potel were all up there. And Voillot (Volnay/Pommard) was a real surprise.
The whites had already been written up highly, so taste buds were already on alert. They didn’t disappoint – pure, fruity, intense and long, yet underpinned by crisp acidity and minerality. Many of the wines can be drunk now – but will age gracefully for 5-10 years at the upper end.
Favourite growers? Droin’s Chablis, Boillot’s Pulignys, Jobard’s and Fichet’s Mersault, and Marc Colin.
Ideally, I’d take them all.