As I have written before, one of the nice things about Belgium is that professional families often offer fine mature Bordeaux or Burgundy, like these two, which were served at Sunday’s dinner by some friends.
Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er cru (I did not note which) 1993 (white) from Philippe Delagrange.
Unfortunately the wine was served rather too cold in small open rimmed and tinted glasses, none of which favoured full expression but, nevertheless, the wine shone through as remarkable young, fresh and lively with good minerality and “gras” without any trace of intrusive wood which, for me, disfigures much modern white burgundy; 15.5/20.
Beaune Clos des Mouches 1972 (red) from Chanson Père & Fils.
When I saw the bottle with its level down to lower shoulder and its illegible label (a sign of a humid cellar, so not bad in itself), I did not expect much and its colour in the glass, quite pale with marked amber tints, was even less encouraging. Happily the wine was delicious; the aromas on the nose were not big but subtle with sweet cherry and fine tea notes will perhaps a hint of varnish. On the palate, the wine was quite light but showed age graciously, with the initial fierce acidity of the vintage now tamed and providing brightness, together with some ethereal residual “sweet” fruit and great length.
I think that, blind, I would have thought this wine older than 1972 (I have had 69s, 71s and even 49s in recent years which have been far more vigorous) but, although I guess that it has lost weight, it has not dried out nor does it show signs of oxidization. A treat; 17/20.
I note that both these wines were from vintages which for many years were notorious for their acidity. This encourages me to be patient with my 1996s (provided that oxidization has not struck all the bottles of white!).