Domaine de L'Hortus Grande Cuvée Blanc 2008 VDP Val de Montferrand and a Blanc Surprise from Burgundy

This time I am not in an adventures mood! So no voyages to “un-“chartered territories or unfamiliar varietals. This time it shalt be something decent. Something established. Something almost classic. Something from France. From the South. From Languedoc for example. More precise: Val de Montferrand, a small part of Pic Saint Loup. A wine from a real big shot bio wine producer with tons of extraordinary reputation. I am talking about Domaine de L’Hortus with its well know crus from Clos du Prieur or Pic Saint Loup. In the past 25 years Jean and Marie-Thérèse Orliac became well known for their largely convincing reds and of course for their prime white blend: Today’s wine! The Grand Cuvée Blanc 2008 was made from 50% barrel fermented Chardonnay and smaller parts of the locally more common varietals Roussanne and Viognier. As a supplement to this emotional and ardent southerner I chose to have a real down-to-earth Bourguignon Chardonnay from Pierre Bourée Fils.

Domaine de L'Hortus Grande Cuvée Blanc 2008 VDP Val de Montferrand 

The colour seemed very juicy and dim’y yellow, a bit like the colour of a certain bodily fluid after too much booze. Sorry for that (not so weird) comparison ;-). Its nose got plenty of lemon and orange zest, hay, slight nutty scents, definitely candid orange peel and maybe a bit too much vanilla-oak influence. But still in an absolutely acceptable manner. The taste was dominated by very ripe lemons, rather young oranges and maybe even some hints of bergamot essence. Later I tended to spot some dried apricots and hints of flowered honey (?). Besides that a very profound mineral and herbal touch (nice, but unusual bitterness) was distinctively recognisable. It was a very intense and robust treat. A very nice treat! OK, the slight oak overload provided some vanilla-creaminess which eased the manly character of this white blend a bit and made it more accessible. I assume it is in the beginning of a very joyful consumption period and would recommend you to annihilate it within the next 12 to 18 months.

Pierre Bourée Fils Bougogne Blanc 2008

This Bourgogne Blanc from a typical Burgundy original and maybe excessive anti-modernist, we all know how scarce this wonderful stock is in Burgundy ;-), surprised me in a sustainable and exultant way. The colour was very regular medium pale yellow. Nothing extraordinary about that. The bouquet appeared to me not as feeble as sooooo many Bourgogne Blancs. It showed hearty scents of lemons + some peels, slight apricot, plenty of classic herbs and delicate oak. The tasted was 100% Chardonnay juice! Very hearty, very pithy flavours of ripe lemons, perhaps even over ripe ones, some indications of juvenile apricots, some egg yolk, some simple pastries and maybe hints of dextrose and clear grapeiness. Surly not a grand Chardonnay from a whatsoever fantastic Burgundy prime location. Not a very complex or refined Chardonnay either, but a honest seeming wine with a buttload of character. Definitely a rebuy!