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© John Farren

Meeting 392 - Friday 20th November 2014

Part 1: The Branch Annual General Meeting 2016

Part 2: Domaine de Tollot Beaut --- Speaker: Alex Corrin



1: AGM of the Branch

       The AGM of the Berkshire Branch of the IWFS was chaired by Colin Mair, who thanked the Officers for their sterling work throughout the year. Attached is the 2016 Annual Report as supplied by the Secretary, Jules Graham.
       Secretary's Report 2016:

2: Domaine de Tollot Beaut --- Speaker: Alex Corrin

       We are grateful to Alex for again opening her cellar for us to taste some of her wines. In this case wines bought en-primeur over the last few years. All the wines were from two of the wide range produced by Tollot Beaut: Chorey-les-Beaunes and Savigny -les-Beaunes. Domaine de Tollot Beaut is a family concern of five generations working 24 hectares in four communes : Chorey lès Beaune, Savigny lès Beaune, Beaune, Aloxe Corton. Domaine Tollot-Beaut is one of a very select band of Côte d’Or domaines; around 1930 the pioneering American wine merchant, winemaker and author, Frank Schoonmaker, convinced a number of high quality domaines to reserve a portion of their production for domaine bottling and then exporting to the US – wine that would otherwise have been sold to négociants. d’Angerville of Volnay, Gouges of Nuits and Rousseau of Gevrey are well-enough known members of that select band, fewer know that Tollot-Beaut of Chorey-lès-Beaune was another, indeed they actually made their first domaine bottlings in 1921.

        We tasted 6 Chorey: 2012, 2011, 2010 2009, 2008 and 2006. Chorey is not a Cru area and all the wines are listed as Appellation Chorey-les-Beaune Controlée. Interestingly, although they all showed an aging palate which reflected the years, they all seemed to have a similar structure - a clear reflection of the intention of the 'fils' to maintain a house style. The youngest 2012, 2011 and 2010 were drinking well now and might not have a long life: colour gradually changing from purple to maroon/purple, and stone fruit, damsons and good tannins on the palate. The 2012 was quite tannic and a bit rough. Maybe it will smooth out in the next few months but it still had the makings of a wine to be drunk young. The older wines showed gradually increasing leather and cherry and soft fruit on the nose. The fruit on the palate was quite variable: the 2009 was quite fruity, complex and had long finish. The 2008 had some fruit but lost points because of its strong tannin and acid, while the 2006 had good fruit and was drinkling well but not for much longer.

        The 2 Tollot Savigny-les Beaunes were in the Premier Cru class. And it showed in the 2012: with a fresh damson and soft fruit nose, a nicely balanced palate with cherry and soft tannins and a clean long finish, this proved to be the evening's winner. By contrast he 2010 seemed to me to also be well balanced and long but was slightly more tannic. It proved to be one of those wines that the members had quite a range of opinions about.
        Of interest was the comparison of the members markings with the IWFS vintage rankings for the region. The making are shown in the table below.

       As usual Charlotte provided us with a feast afterwards. The porque-aux- pruneaux combined with her own special Dauphinoise potato made seconds irresistable. She did have to admit having a problem providing the Spice Apple Brulèe but all that was forgiven with her soft fruit and custard replacement.


The Wines
Cost(£)**
Score
10 Max
IWFS
Rating
7 max
Aperitif: Cave de Lugny: Sparkling Burgundy, Blancs de Blancs
13.95
7
   
(1) Chorey-les-Beaunes 2012, Appellation Chorey-les-Beaune Controlée 20.16 6+
6   
(2) Chorey-les-Beaunes 2011 18.06 6
4   
(3) Chorey-les-Beaunes 2010 18.49 7
6   
(4) Chorey-les-Beaunes 2009 17.68 7+
7   
(5) Chorey-les-Beaunes 2008 16.77 6-
4   
(6) Chorey-les-Beaunes 2006 13.96 7
5   
(7) Savigny-les-Beaunes 2012 29.50 8
6   
(7) Savigny-les-Beaunes 2010 24.40 7*
6   
The supper wines :
(1)   Chateau Lacombe Cardiot: Bordeaux Superior

* Average of a wide range of scores!
** Price paid by Alex at the time of purchase.