Paradiski is paradise…a wonderful week...

When I started this blog it was going to be about wine and may be the odd cigar, that is what it has largely remained but there are exceptions which are nothing more than a selfish chance to capture fun times - this is one of those - no apologies made. Just back from a fun packed week with friends and family in Les Coches - between Les Arcs and La Plagne - part of the Paradiski area. I can't recommend it enough. Any of Les Coches, Montchavin or Vallandry in particular as they are central small and prettier than the larger parts of the area. It was a great week. I hope some of the pics may amuse - they make me smile and might just get me through the summer!! Actually wait a minute those are fun too - Holidays, bottles and travels.

The Gang!

In Beaune en route, nice if unspectacular.. 

Unpacking!! Les Arcs side in the background.

A few magnum sized toys for the week, didn't last long!

My ski buddy through thick and thin... 

No idea what this was really but delicious? Yes!

Mrs H happy with a mid morning Chocolate Chaud!!

Laura, Charlie and I escaping for a fun packed afternoon while lessons started for the others!

Loved skiing these all week - good work Whitedot!

If this is a true indicator of 2014 Rhone then I'm in - nice!

Putting some carbs back in - potatoes on Pizza!! Oh yes.

Full and well "watered" a slippery stroll home.

Me and my boy! We only lost each other twice.

The Robot - on the way from Les Coches to La Plagne - love this sculpture - old lift parts! 

Looking back towards Les Coche from the Robot!

Charlie dressed as a Robot!

Food envy kicked in here... 

Up at Roche de Mio - on top of the world!

Alpine weather Part 1 - a foggy bread run

Part 2 - sun working hard..

Part 3 - half way down the first run - magic!

The kind of commuting I don't mind - getting the Vanoise express over to Les Arcs...

Too busy to shop but this is a pretty big "pop-up" on the Transarc ridge above Les Arc 2000.

Not too much queuing for us in Les Arcs and the sun in abundance.

"Lunch" on a lift - no time for stopping!

Tree skiing above Vallandry - superb snow, light and space! 

The only nearly successful "pano" I have done!

BOY!

This worked - very citrussy - good!

En magnum! Love me a bit of Charvin!

Day 5 ski team - Mrs H crossing to Les Arcs

Could that be a newspaper under the arm...

Mrs H and Jo read for group "selfie" (see top pic) then a "run" down to Les Coches.

This signage wasn't there a day earlier when Charlie skied of that roof - hence the smug look!

An impromptu wine tasting courtesy of Laura…interesting.

For aesthetic reasons we wanted this to "win" but it (definitely) didn't...     

This did! Good Rhone-like spicy richness!

Day 6 - last day - we woke to this and it never really lifted, some good skiing but bad vis!

Ready for the elements!

What did I say about vis!!

Gotta love a bobble hat! Mrs H in ravishing form!

Last night bottles - The Carquelin 2011 was every bit as good as I remembered.  

It is a little sad that the last two pics appear less fun…BUT every cloud and all that - Fran's knee if not that serious and there was jealousy at having achieved a proper sporting injury. The car, well all I will say is that the team rallied round to help. BMW (who where exceptional)  had us on flights that evening and the car had been picked up by 10am (we called a 7.15am). the only drama was getting to Geneva on a very busy change over day but "legendary Leney" came to the rescue and got us there - for which we remain forever thankful.

Cheers whoever you were, didn't stop and no note... 

The sports injury!! 3 weeks and as good as new! We hope!

The week just worked to prove a few points one should never forget:

Friends whether you've known them 2 minutes or 20 years are what matters

You can't laugh too much

Food and drink are fun

Skiing is the perfect holiday

Amen to that and sincere thanks to all those who made this such a special week - you know who you are...

Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 2013's...

I try each year to document my notes of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti wines. I did this with the DRC 2012's actually at the Domaine last year which was a real treat. Last Tuesday saw the annual press tasting of the 2013's - a vintage (the only vintage) I have been lucky enough to taste from barrel (see end of this POST). The wines are "finished" wines, served from bottle.

The wines in order of tasting are covered below (there is no Cuvee Duvault-Blochet in 2013), I am normally quite anal about putting Grand Cru, 1er Cru etc but as they are all Grand Cru...

Corton* - Markedly redder than it has been for the last few vintages, the first being 2009. Crisp and almost crunchy. This was the wine that I found most different at lunch with more volume of wine, it became more juicy with a bit more grip and grit. This is what 2013 Corton should be like, to my mind anyhow.

Echezeaux* - To me this is the wine that showed a whole bunch character the most. Pencil shavings and a little grit, fine-grained pepper too. It was driven and fresh with lively acidity and red fruits at the core...a serious Echezeaux, uncompromising.

Grands Echezeaux - A deeper and more substantial nose. More stuffing, darker fruit, good structure and a nicely sappy edge also, this is balanced and in common with the Echezeaux is a serious rendition.

Romanee-Saint-Vivant* - I am totally biased here having seen this wine come to full blossom over the last 15 years. This is floral and red fruited and with sincere focus. Intense, poised and quite linear. There is a little spice but it stays firmly in the background. I think 2013 exaggerates the strengths of RSV. Superb.

Richebourg - A lot of people mentioned this as a real favourite, I love how different it is from RSV. I'd almost always have the RSV if I was on a desert island and had to choose but hopefully that won't happen. The fruit is deeper and darker, blacker and more sturdy, as it should be. There is a little graphite and a very slight edge of orange rind. It's slightly like a combination of Corton, Clos Vougeot and Richebourg.

La Tache - The word that springs to mind, especially after such significant differences in the other wines, is "completeness". Elements of all the others and a seamless texture as well. There is that dash of spice and it is almost impossible to define the fruit as red or black as it is both. Refined and flamboyant in equal measure.

Romanee-Conti - Superb nose but somehow a little more one dimensional than La Tache. The palate is alive and very red-fruited and fresh a little like the RSV but with the texture of Tache. I am never worried by this wine not being head and shoulders above La Tache at this early stage. Romanee Conti always ages on its grace and harmony as this tasting taught me.

*the notes for these wines are an amalgam of the tasting and lunch.

The Montrachet is never shown at the tasting but I was lucky enough to try it over lunch afterwards.

Montrachet - Reduced nose (I love reduction), rich but not heavy. The palate has a balancing driven saline element that has a lot of energy to it. This is a cooler vintage Montrachet with great acidity, may be slightly less opulence. The nose over time lost the reductive covering with citrus, especially lemon, coming to the fore. This is in-line with the Montrachets from vintages like 2004 and 2007. Superb, cellar worthy and serious.

This is one of those days in the year that really makes me wish I had started my blog much earlier...

A meeting of minds @ 67 Pall Mall

This was a fun Friday night dinner at 67 Pall Mall, the wine club I've joined. Great glasses, good service and decent food mean that I imagine more and more blogs will be coming from there. It's featured already on the DJP blog. The evening was to introduce two great wine lovers - Jordi and Rajiv - to  each other, it was terrific that Neal Martin could join so it became four members and six bottles and lots of chat.

We started with a pair of whites that I brought along, knowing that I wouldn't be able to compete with the  maturity of the reds. The pair were:

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes 2011 and Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatieres 2011 both from Francois Carillon. This was the second vintage of Francois' estate. I chose the 2011's over the 2010's or 2012's as they are more open and just lovely to drink now. Interestingly the Folatieres seemed to slightly steel the show. The Combettes was more opulent and "tarty" initially but possibly a little simpler. The Folatieres, in contrast, was a little leaner, more saline, classier, very balanced. Will be interesting to track these over time.

So, onto the reds, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 2007 from De Vogue was up first courtesy of Rajiv. We felt it would need the most air so we wanted to get it in the glasses first. I love 2007's as I have said many times. This though is a more serious interpretation of the vintage. There is quite a lot of body here and a richer texture, the nose is more refined and 07' like, a little orange peel. It is a wine to be patient with as was shown by coming back to it at the end of the night when it had softened a little.

We were then firmly into the "Jordi-Zone" with the mature bottles of which there were, very generously, three. First up was Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets 1962 from H.Boillot. The nose here was degraded and sweet, opulent, with a whiff of green spices. The sweetness stayed and the texture added to this somehow. Often wines like this have a flattering opening and then turn savoury of even bitter, not so here, just a lovely fully mature bottle of sweet, floral, Volnay.

Musigny Grand Cru 1979 from Domaine Jacques Prieur was next and given that I am getting to know the Domaine Jacques Prieur (DJP) wines more and more this was an exciting prospect. The siting of the DJP Musigny is something I commented upon in this post. None of the older Burgundies were decanted, just popped and poured. The nose here was initially quite reticent and the texture a little nervous but all this settled down and ultimately this was voted WOTN. There was a masculine purity but also a refined saline edge as well, this made for both intensity and moreishness. A little spice and funk by the very end, all in all a cracking bottle of proper mature Burgundy.

Then Jordi decided we needed one more bottle, no arguments of course, Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Beaumonts 1989 from Leroy it turned out to be. This was rich, full of iron and minerals, there was an intensity to the colour that suggested it was far younger (mid or late 90's even), it had a showy, almost exuberant side. There is a spice too but never overpowering, a lovely wine that is, may be, 5-10 years from its peak...

This was a splendid evening with some great bottles being drunk amongst good chat in just the way I like it. Respectful but not deferential - these are made to be drunk. Having them from good glasses and served in small but regular pours does, of course, help.

I have a strong feeling this wont be the last time this little gathering occurs!