Two French wines.

Date: March 18th, 2009
Cotes du Rhone
Jean Bichier et Fils 2004
Grenache Noir and Syrah
13%
Ruby red with orange tint, nice transparency and lovely reflections of bright red light through the wine, slow regular tears along the sides of the glass. Viscous.
Fairly intense on the nose and gradually revealing more complexity to the wine over time. The first scent is herbal, though I couldn’t recognize the smell, I have read that syrah can have sandlewood and or cedar smell. In this bottle, it is somewhat of a medicinal smell. I smell damp woods, followed by alcohol infused red berry fruit with a spicy, peppery finish. On the palate it is dry, with a pleasant warm alcohol sensation that you continue to feel down to your stomach. It is smooth and silky in the mouth. It is still fresh and only slightly tannic, with a sapidity slightly higher than the acids. It is full-bodied, well-balanced, with a medium persistence. Overall, it is a good quality wine that is at this point mature and harmonious. After a while in the glass, some caramel notes emerge.


Date: March 19th, 2009
Burgundy
Chateau de Villars Fontaine
Hautes Cotes des Nuits
Chardonnay
2002
13%
I’ve just poured it in the glass and already I smell caramel. In the glass it is a crystal clear, straw yellow with golden hues. In the bottle, some particles are evident as this wine has been fined with eggs whites. Upon closer examination, I see the fine particles in the glass, but they in no way take away from its brightness. This wine looks every bit healthy, clean and young. It swirls in the glass with some consistency. The intense scent of yellow and tropical fruit assails me first, followed by still fresh spring flowers. As it warms in the glass the smell of flowers becomes stronger.The final note is definitely caramel, and maybe a touch of mineral/slate on the finish. It is dry, warm and smooth going down, complemented by fresh bright acidity and underlined by that somewhat paler nonetheless present mineral note. It is medium – bodied, well-balanced, fairly intense tasting wine with lingering vanilla, and a mouth-cleansing freshness that persists. This wine is ready to drink but still has lots of room to age. Now, I will admit my partiality….I’m one of 400 co-owners of this vineyard in Hautes Cotes des Nuits. More on that later.