2004 Domaine de la Tour du Bon Bandol
I was at César and would have rather tried the 2002 Clusel-Roch Cote Rotie. But, I was a little wary because of the vintage and didn’t want my companions to be stuck with Sour Wine. I could have been sold by the waitress, but she claimed that she didn't know the Clusel-Roch because she wasn’t allowed to taste such expensive wines! So, I went with this Bandol as a safer choice. And, it was plenty safe. A good dose of accessible structured fruit that stood up well to the chill in the air, while eating dinner outside on a patio in the middle of February. Safe restaurant choice, not much excitement.
2004 Jacques Puffeney Arbois Pinot Noir
Ok, here’s some Sour Wine if I missed it at César. Not for the faint of heart, this is piercing sour earthy and astringent with glimpses of red fruits that attempt to redeem the wine. But, in the end, those red fruits never really come through. This is not for me.
2004 Lucien Boillot Gevrey Chambertin “Les Cherbaudes”
Much meatier and deeper than the Puffeney, and much easier to like. Over several hours it shows floral forward flavors on the dark side of the spectrum. In fact, much darker than many 04 red Burgundies I’ve tasted (although I hardly have encyclopedic tasting experience). For a while I thought it was too dark and roasted, but by the end of the night it begins to integrate into a nice meaty herbal wine with fine grained tannins buffering the finish. So, it might be interesting to see what this eventually turns into.