Five of us met about 2 weeks back to enjoy some fine restaurant fare and sip on some red burgundies. First, though, we had a little Prum treat to get the night kicked off right:
1996 Joh. Jos. Prum Riesling Auslese Graacher Himmelreich. This wine presents an absolutely beautiful and complex bouquet, hitting you with layer after layer of petrol, waxy lanolin, Delicious apple, stone fruits, kiwi, lemon drops, wet slate and pink lemonade aromas. In the mouth, it is fairly tightly-structured, with reasonable mid-level weight and fine balance, yet it packs a richly-fruited and powerful flavor punch. Flavors include lemon/lime, kiwi and fresh honey. It provides a seamless, almost silky texture all the way through the mouth, ending with beautiful balance on the mouthwatering finish. This is great stuff and should continue to be so for some time to come.
1988 Serafin Pere et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Le Fonteny. The color is a bit light and the appearance is moderately cloudy with this wine. It seemed to need about an hour to start showing much, but then it really came on strong. Aromatically, one finds notes of milky red fruits, soft earth, old leather, some charcoal and caramel-covered apple. Much later on in the evening, it seems to take on a distinctive note of bacon fat and a little cinnamon stick, as well. On the palate, it is beautifully sappy, with a tingly acidity to carry it along. It is light to medium-bodied and on the elegant side at this point, but hardly lacking in density of fruit or length of flavor. There is a hint of some fine dry tannin hanging around, but otherwise it is round and soft and very pleasant to drink, with a faint chalkiness on the finish. WOTN for me.
1998 Joseph Roty Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Le Fonteny. This is darker-colored but similarly cloudy-looking in appearance. The nose is initially not nice at all, with aromas of tomato leaf and roasted/stewed fruits and herbs. Later, though, things come around nicely, and one begins to find aromas of black cherry, roasted red fruits, leather and café au lait. Even later, a very distinctive note of wintergreen comes in and stays with it until the wine is gone. All in all, though, it stays pretty tight and narrow throughout the evening. In the mouth, it is moderately rich, with a creamy texture. It has a nice inner cohesiveness that helps it hold together nicely while coating the inside of the mouth. The black cherry and currant fruit is lush, the acidity is decidedly soft and there is a fine spice box component that later leads to a cool fresh minty note that really pops on the finish.
1990 Domaine G. Roumier Chambolle-Musigny. All night, I felt like the nose on this wine was playing it shy, showing a lot of restraint and elegance to its notes of mixed currants, black raspberries and bark. It comes across like it could really use quite a bit more time to unwind and express itself. It is juicy in the mouth, with a big solid squirt of red fruits and lemon squeeze acidity. It finishes with a lemon/lime tang and some cranberry fruit overtones. Again, though, it feels like it is just giving a show of an elegant façade and that there is a deeper level of complexity and expansiveness well-hidden below. I was left wanting more.
1990 Remoissenet Beaune Greves. When first opened, this was not promising at all. When I first poured a little taste to test it, I was really worried about what I found—a wine with a tart, overly acidic and shrill personality. About 2 hours later, though, I began to hear murmurs from other tasters that this was really nice, so I hurried to pour a glass to see if they had lost their minds. Indeed, no, it was just that the wine had blossomed. Indeed, it had become a rather sexy beast, with sweet blackberry, black currants, spice cake, espresso roast and soft incense notes on the nose. The nose just got better and better right until the end of the night when the wine was gone. In the mouth, one finds a seamless texture and a lovely sappy feel, with a decidedly more red fruit orientation than found on the nose. It is solidly medium-bodied, with good length. Dried brown spices and a hint of bitter quinine austerity unfortunately come in on the less impressive finish. Still, a bit like the Roty, this was a real Lazarus based on what it was like when first opened.
1994 Faiveley Nuits St. Georges Les Porets St. Georges. The color is bright and not as cloudy as some of the previous selections. On the nose, this is primarily about dark red berry fruits, but there are very nice secondary characteristics lurking beneath, like nettles, caramel, bacon, chalk, fresh saline notes and perhaps just the faintest hint of VA. It is masculine and solidly fleshy in the mouth, with a very refreshing uplift of flavors derived from lively acidity. This feels fresh and agile despite the generally dark profile of blackberry, black currant and dark chocolate. Chalky dark chocolate tannins do begin to coat the teeth after a while, but do not mar the mid-palate experience nor the solid finish.
1999 Perrot-Minot Chambolle-Musigny Vielles Vignes. Warning--This wine is far too young to even think of drinking now. It comes across as deadly serious and stiff—with virtually no charm whatsoever. It smells dark, with notes of black licorice, dark chocolate, black currants, nettles, rubber and white pepper. In the mouth, it is dominated by its chewy, fudgy tannins right now, despite signs of a pleasingly creamy texture. The flavors are not really my cup of tea right now, with strong notes of coffee liqueur, heavy anise and unfriendly black fruits. It has plenty of body and enough acidity, so it should be able to hang in there for the 7-10 years required before approaching this again.
1999 Perrot-Minot Chambolle-Musginy 1er Cru La Combe d’Orveau. The premier cru, on the other hand, is much more approachable. The pedigree compared to the basic VV is evident right off the bat, as well. It is massive compared to the other wines on the table, yet it manages to show some decided charm. Warm raspberries, creamy berry spread, tomato leaf, faint cedar and white pepper aromas show emerging depth and complexity. In the mouth, it has more density and weightiness than anything else on the table. It is rich and thick and rounded, yet fresh and juicy and engaging. Flavors of mixed berries and dark chocolate lead to a clean and well-balanced finish that shows a bit of fine wood. This should be even better in 10 years.
1999 Domaine de Beaurenard Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel. Now for something completely different. This offers up a port-like nose of chocolate-covered cherries and toasted caramel to go with notes of vulcanized rubber. It is super-sweet in the mouth, with a huge shot of sweet cherry liqueur to go with sugary grape sweet tarts, melted chocolate and almond paste flavors. It is medium-bodied and not overtly heavy-feeling, and indeed manages a certain ethereal quality on the finish.
-Michael