WTN: Four Burgundies and No Funeral

A friend made bœuf bourguignon for a half a dozen friends and I was enlisted to supply the wine. Predictably, I put together a line-up of burgundies in ascending order of classification and alcohol and descending order of vintage. It occurred to me that my friend – a delightful person but closer in spirit to, say, a lumberjack than Little Miss Manners – might not have “proper” wine glasses, so I thought of offering to bring a six-pack. But that seemed just too, I don’t know, borderline condescending or whatever, so I took my chances. Result: we had to drink these out of tumblers, no doubt affecting perception for the worse.

2004 Jacques & Nathalie Saumaize Saint-Véran La Vieille Vigne des Crêches 13%
Bracing acidity overwhelms the light pear, grapefruit and mineral taste. Some light oak and the impression of excessive alcohol. Have some more of this, hope it improves with age.

2005 Michel Magnien Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire 12.5%
Dark garnet, looks more like a claret. Cherry, tar and smoke on the nose, later a touch of rosemary. Mouth puckering tannins, good acidity, more muscular than the average basic Bourgogne. Probably the wine that performed best relative to its class.

2004 Marc Colin & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 13%
Light ruby coloring. Curious aroma of anis and mimeograph glue (used to love that in the ole days). Very peppery in the mouth, with oak vanilla, olives, rubber and, again, mouth puckering tannins. This is the table favorite, but I find the pepper excessive.

2002 Louis Jadot Beaune Clos des Ursules (Monopole) Premier Cru 13.5%
Light garnet, a little darker than the Colin. Initial burnt sugar and oak aromas, and later notes of leather and cardamom. Medium tannins. The most rounded of the wines, but still relatively subdued. Expected more, but this clearly has many years ahead of it, and should improve.

Not funereal, but less than stellar wine experiences. Still, a most enjoyable evening; next time I won’t be so shy about the glasses.

PS: all reds were double decanted three hours prior; the Ursules, in addition, stayed in the decanter for half an hour.

[David M. Bueker]

I'm not shocked the Ursules showed closed. 2002 is still deep in slumber in my opinion, and Ursules is a long-lived wine for a Beaune.

As for the glasses, Rahsaan and I had the same experience at our dinner on Friday (though our starting glasses were better than tumblers - perhaps you should bring Chianti), with wines not showing well until we received proper glasses.

Yes, while many 2001s seem to be drinking comfortably now, the 2002s appear to need a lot more time.

It still amazes me how much the shape of the glass affects perception. Last week I poured a 2003 Pommard into a burgundy glass and a bordeaux glass, and while they tasted similar, from the aromas alone I would have guessed different wines. Just to make sure I asked Marcia to smell the two glasses and she had the same reaction

Surprised by the Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire showing as tannic and muscular, usually the Gamay makes lighter. Maybe there's some Cesar? Or just that Magnien is known for extracted wines.

Thanks for data point on the Ursules, I'll hold.

I feel your pain re glasses,but I also usually find it too geeky to offer stems unless asked.

[David M. Bueker]

I feel your pain re glasses,but I also usually find it too geeky to offer stems unless asked.

My typical intro when I feel I need to bring glassware:

"I thought we would all enjoy something really special...insert presentation of nice wine here...and I brought these really neat glasses that are supposed to work for this type of wine."

I'll also frequently (after drinking) present the box of inexpensive Spiegelau stems that I have brought for the hosts as a thank you for having us to dinner (always the less expensive, thus more likely dishwasher safe types).

For me the whole glassware issue depends on how comfortable I am with the people, and for most of my close friends I would have no problem raising the issue (it just so happens they all have nice glassware, but that's a different story...)

And, nice of you to bring Burgundy to a lumberjack gathering! One might have thought zinfandel or petit sirah. But, I see this was the match with the food

Dale, it only says pinot noir on the label, are you sure there are other grapes?

Yes, lumberjacks can be mighty fine people too, only wish those wines could have given them everything they had to give...

Dale, it only says pinot noir on the label, are you sure there are other grapes?

Oswaldo, BGO is an appellation that is used for wines that don't qualify for Bourgougne AC. Usually that's because it has Gamay and Cesar and (one other grape I can't remember, someone grab their encyclopedia), although I think it can also be because of not meeting an alcohol minimum? Though latter seems impossible for (a) a Magnien (b)a 2005 and (c) the wine you described. Hopefully a Burg expert can answer?
But if it says just PN on label probably is. Confusing.

Yes, lumberjacks can be mighty fine people too,...

Indeed!

[David M. Bueker]

Well they're certainly singing...

Great picture! What's with lumberjacks and tartan, all they all descended from Scots?

The Michel Magnien website (http://www.domaine-magnien.com/) lists a straight Bourgogne (100% Pinot Noir), a Bourgogne Passetoutgrain (PN & Gamay), a Bourgogne Pinot Noir (100% Pinot Noir) and a Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire Pinot Noir. The last is the only one without composition information, but it is probably also 100% pinot noir because elsewhere (http://www.answers.com/topic/bourgogne- ... dinaire-ac) I found:

"The general regional appellation known as BGO (...) is rarely used today. Its requirements are even lower than those for the Bourgogne AC so most winemakers opt for the latter. The grape varieties are the same as allowed for Bourgogne AC wines, with the addition of melon de bourgogne for white wines. In the Yonne département the local Sacy grape variety is also allowed in white wines. (...) Red Burgundy (Bourgogne Rouge) must be made from pinot noir although the gamay grape variety is allowed in beaujolais in the Yonne département the local varieties Tressot or Cesar are also approved."

I'll send Magnien an email asking what's the difference between the three that are not passetoutgrain.

Had the following, somewhat less than informative exchange with Dominique Magnien:

What is the difference between the three burgundies produced by Michel Magnien (Bourgogne, Bourgogne Pinot Noir et Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire Pinot Noir)?

Bourgogne and Bourgogne Pinot Noir are the same wine and correspond to Bourgogne appellation d’origine contrôlée restricted to a very well-determined zone. Pinot Noir because that is the grape of the Bourgogne appellation. The older labels didn’t mention Pinot Noir.

Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire is also an appellation d’origine contrôlée, also restricted to a very well determined zone. Pinot Noir is the name of the grape.

Besides the duh! factor, it is interesting to note how even a traditional Burgundy name has adopted selective (grape) name dropping in response to consumer ignorance (a quality he presumes I share, thank you very much).