Domaine Chenu - new arrival
Just arrived is the 2005 vintage of Domaine Chenu
Savigny-les-Beaune at £10.95.
Domaine Chenu is now run by Louis Chenu,
together with his wife and daughters. Louis is the
great grandson of the Louis Chenu who first planted
vines in the area in 1914. As with a lot of family
producers that we know, the daughters have qualified
in oenology and are bringing their new expertise to
bear on the whole winemaking process from vineyard
to bottle. Domaine Chenu grow their own grapes and
make their own wine from these grapes allowing them
full control over the whole process – another
important factor. In the words of one American wine
critic, “Domaine Chenu promote luxury and femininity
in all their wines”.
Last year we imported their white
wine, Savigny-les-Beaune, from the 2004 vintage
and it quickly sold out. We've now got our hands
on an allocation from the 2005 vintage, ("a near
perfect vintage" - Jancis Robinson) which has
just arrived in bond. The 2004 was exceptional,
as those of you who tasted it will know - if
anything the 2005 is another notch up in quality
and is drinking perfectly now but with some
ageing potential - if you can hang on to it that
long! To quote Jancis again on 2005 burgundies,
"in
general all the wines are charming, truly
succulent and they faithfully express their
origins. Can one ask for more?"
The wine is made from 90% chardonnay
with 10% pinot blanc, and the grapes come from two
vineyards,
one situated at the entrance to the
village on a slightly sloping hillside facing north
(Les Saucours) and the other at the exit of the
village heading towards Bouilland on a hillside this
time facing south (Les Vermots). This wine has a
rich honeyed aromatic nose inviting you into a
mouthful of beautifully balanced fruit, nuts and
mineral flavours with refreshing crisp acidity and
great length. It shows more than a trace of its
famous near neighbour, Corton-Charlemagne. This is
truly delicious typical white Burgundy and would
amply reward careful cellaring for a further 3-5
years.
What the papers
say
Self praise is no
praise, so you might be interested in the opinion of
Mike Tipping, wine writer for the York Evening Press
on three of our wines in his weekly column recently
(12th Jan).
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/columnists/tippingstipples/display.var.1961212.0.mike_tipping_admits_he_was_wrong.php
Tastings
We've
already done three tastings this year and already
have a further eight booked between now and
September, but always keen to share our wines with a
larger audience. Do have a look at the website for
some of the feedback we get and the kind of formats
available.
ASDW
(Association of Small Direct Wine Merchants)
About a
hundred and twenty of you will be getting this
newsletter for the first time as a result of signing
up to receive newsletters from ASDW members at
various shows you've attended. Thanks for your
interest. If for any reason you've changed your mind
simply reply to this mail with "Unsubscribe" in the
subject heading.
every cloud has a silver lining...
First the
bad news. Price increases are on the way. We've
increased only a few of our prices over the last
four years, but along with the rest of the industry
that's set to change.
Importing
the wine is becoming more expensive as transport
companies pass on fuel cost rises, and suppliers are
also reflecting huge raw material increases in glass
and packaging. More fundamentally, the euro is
around 9% stronger against the pound compared to a
year ago. Finally, most of the industry also expects
larger than usual increases in duty on 12th
March come this year's budget (even though on a
£5.99 bottle of wine £2.40 of the retail price
already goes straight to the Treasury in duty and
VAT).
The good
news is that we are holding our prices until this
date (12th March) but plan increases immediately
after this to reflect all of the foregoing, so you
have a chance to beat these price increases. We hope
you'll take advantage of this!
February
2008 Newsletter
