French Wines

Burgundy

Chablis
Domaine Barat

Domaine Barat has been producing Chablis for six generations and has four excellent premier cru sites. The wines are made with an emphasis on freshness and are bottled in May to preserve this. Their style is clean and mineral. One of the characteristics that most impressed us on tasting was the definition of the Chardonnay coming out; fruit quality is essential in the northern part of Burgundy and with these wines it shines through.

	White	Vintage	RRP
	Chablis 2007	2007	€19.80
	Chablis 1er Cru Côte-de-Léchet	2006	€24.00
	Chablis 1er Cru Monts de Milieu 2006	2006	€26.50
	Chablis 1er Cru Monts de Milieu Magnum (also Jeroboam on demand)	2005	€57.70

1/2 bottles available

Burgundy

Mâcon Cru
Domaine Saint-Denis

This domaine epitomises our approach to wine! Hubert Laferrere, owner and winemaker, is the only person in the Macon-Lugny appellation to make and bottle his own wine – all the other producers sell their grapes to the village co-operative, which then makes and bottles the wine formulaically.

He loves viticulture and has a thoroughly ecological approach. For example, to check the condition of his vineyards, he will randomly pick a hundred or two vine leaves, spreads them out on his kitchen table and then takes a close look through a magnifying glass: “If the green bugs are eating the red bugs then everything is in harmony!”

His white wines have very good concentration and a streak of minerality, this latter more pronounced in the Lugny, which also has a fresher finish. The Chardonnay, named after the eponymous village, has a fuller, more rounded fruit quality. His reds are elegant and finessed and make for very easy drinking.

	White	Vintage	RRP
	Mâcon-Lugny 2004	2004	€19.80
	Mâcon-Chardonnay 2005, Le Chardonnay de Chardonnay	2005	€20.40
	Passerillé de Novembre 37.5 cl	1999	€30.50
	Passerillé de Novembre 37.5 cl	2002	€30.50
	Red	Vintage	RRP
	Bourgogne Rouge 'Le Clos' 2005	2005	€19.30
	Bourgogne Rouge 'Clos de la Coque'	2005	€23.55

Domaine Vincent Dureuil Janthial

	White	Vintage	RRP
	Rully Village 2006	2006	€24.50
	Rully 1er Cru 'Le Meix Cadot' 2006	2006	€27.60
	Red	Vintage	RRP
	Rully Villages Rouge 2006	2006	€27.60

Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran
Domaine Roger Lassarat

During a visit to Burgundy in the spring of last year, 2007, Michael and Ben were introduced to Roger’s wines whilst dining in a restaurant with Hubert Laferrère of Domaine St. Denis. Both were much smitten by them; they are very typical of their types. The Saint-Véran is creamy, dry, with hints of honeyed wax and a long complex finish. Of the Pouilly-Fuissés, the first is a classic of its kind – the nose is integrated, the mouth is balanced and there is elegance and finesse. The Cuvée R is a rarity; an early hailstorm reduced his yield drastically, to below 30 hl/ha, but with a subsequent increase in the concentration of the fruit. The result is a wine of amazing intensity and depth. The wines are very popular in France and we will be adding other cuvées to the list as and when they become available.

	White	Vintage	RRP
	Saint-Véran 'Cuvée Prestige'	2006	€21.75
	Pouilly-Fuissé 'Terroirs de Vergisson'	2006	€26.75
	Pouilly-Fuissé 'Cuvée R'	2005	€32.95
	Pouilly-Fuisse 'Cuvée Racines' 2005	2005	€34.95

Burgundy

Côte de Nuits
Domaine Arlaud, Morey-Saint-Denis

This father and son team produces some really wonderful wines. At entry level, the “Roncevie” shows surprisingly good structure and class; this sets the tone for the whole range. The Arlauds green harvest throughout the vineyards to ensure a low yield of the best quality and following the ripe harvest the grapes are de-stemmed but not crushed before fermentation. Local yeasts are used to start the process; this is important as they help to define the vineyard character.

The wines are racked in open air, to let them breath and to reduce deposits. They are then left to mature for between thirteen and sixteen months before bottling. Of these wines, the Gevrey-Chambertin is the most powerful and hearty, the Chambolle-Musigny the most fine and the Morey-Saint-Denis combines both styles.

The Gevrey-Chambertin 2002 along with several other wines from Domaine Arlaud, were awarded 19 out of 20 by the Guide Fleurus 2006, voted by Sommeliers in France.

	Red	Vintage	RRP
	Roncevie 2005	2005	€22.50
	Gevrey-Chambertin 2005	2005	€38.95
	Morey-Saint-Denis 2005	2005	€38.95
	Chambolle-Musigny 2005	2005	€38.95
	Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru 'Aux Chezeaux' 2001	2001	€54.95
	Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru 'Les Millandes' 2001	2001	€54.95
	Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru 'Aux Chezeaux' 2005	2005	€53.75
	Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru 'Aux Chezeaux' 2002	2002	€53.75
	Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru 'Combottes'	2004	€52.45
	Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2000	2000	€75.80
	Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2004	2004	€74.00
	Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2000	2000	€70.95
	Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2002	2002	€70.95

Some wine from previous vintages is still available. Magnums are available on request.

Burgundy

Côte de Beaune
Domaine François Charles et Fils

Burgundy can be a hard wine to master, you read about the region, taste the wines and wonder why you’re not quite getting it. What you will have read about Volnay says it should be highly perfumed, silky, rounded and elegant. Just taste the Clos de la Cave 2003 and you will sigh in happy agreement. These are delicious wines with impeccable balance and breed, true to their origins except for the price.

	Red	Vintage	RRP
	Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune 'La Combotte'	2005	€20.50
	Volnay 'Clos de la Cave' 2006	2006	€27.25
	Volnay 1er Cru 'Les Fremiets 2005	2005	€32.25
	Beaune 1er Cru 'Les Epenottes 2005	2005	€30.25
	Beaune 1er Cru 'Les Boucherottes' 2005	2005	€27.50
	Pommard 2005	2005	€31.25

Burgundy

Chassagne-Montrachet
Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils

We were introduced to the Moreau family by Domaine Arlaud, a propitious moment! We tasted the wines in the shop one evening and were completely bowled over, as were the all the customers who had the good fortune to come in that night. We telephoned next day and managed to get a small allocation of these wonderful wines. They are of the very highest quality and breeding and explain why great white Burgundy causes such devotion and excitement.

	White	Vintage	RRP
	Saint-Aubin 1er Cru 'sur Gamay' 2006	2006	€32.50
	Saint-Aubin 1er Cru 'en Remilly' 2006	2006	€33.50
	Chassagne-Montrachet 2006	2006	€35.95
	Meursault 'Les Vireuils' 2006	2006	€35.95
	Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Gain 2004	2004	€46.95
	Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes 2004	2004	€46.95
	Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie 2004	2004	€46.95
	Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot 2006	2006	€52.95
	Red	Vintage	RRP
	Bourgogne 2004	2004	€16.25
	Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes	2004	€26.25
	Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot La Cardeuse (monopole)	2004	€37.95

Beaujolais

Jean Claude Lapalu

It has been said of Jean Claude Lapalu that he didn’t have the courage to tell his humble Gamay vines that they weren’t Grand Cru Burgundy, and so decided to treat them as if they were. It is also true to say that in the past we had found it very hard to raise even a whisper of enthusiasm for the Beaujolais region, but with the discovery of the wines of Jean Claude Lapalu we’ve been eating humble pie in large quantities on a regular basis. What changed our minds? Well, very old vines planted in very high density, up to 13000 per hectare, various methods of vinification, not just the carbonic maceration, and a knowledge coupled with the desire to produce the very best gives you wines of a purity rarely found anywhere. They are unbelievably beautiful, wonderful wines.

Beaujolais Producer of the year by Le Guide Fleurus 2006 voted by Sommeliers in France.

	Red	Vintage	RRP
	Beaujolais Villages Tentation 2007	2007	€17.45
	Beaujolais Villages 'Vieilles Vignes' 2007	2007	€17.45
	Beaujolais Villages 'Le Rand du Merle' 2004	2004	€32.75
	Brouilly 'Vieilles Vignes' 2006	2006	€21.50
	Brouilly 'La Croix des Rameaux' 2005	2005	€27.25
	Brouilly 'Cuvée des Fous' 2005	2005	€30.50