WTN: Sancerre, Burgundies and a Lageder

Notes from lunch at Sala with Jojo, Noel and Miguel.

Edmond Vatan Clos La Neore Sancerre 2001 - Lots of green apple and a hint of smoke. Stony. Lots of acidity and a slight sulfur/rubber character. Complex and finishes with good length. Very good.

Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru 1998 - No vineyard indicated. Strawberry and light smoke. Good fruit, preserved plums and a little spicy. Quite vibrant and lively. Probably at peak now. Very good.

Louis Jadot Clos St. Denis Grand Cru 1999 - Lovely aromas. Very ripe berries. Meaty as well. Deep flavors yet rather unyielding. Needs more time in the bottle although after 3 hours in the decanter, the acidity became very pronounced. Bottle age may be better for this than decanting.

Denis Mortet Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux 2003 - Exceedingly sweet and juicy especially for a Burgundy. I would have guessed American if served blind. Soft, friendly and easy. This is definitely for current drinking. Quirky but good.

Alois Lageder Krafuss Pinot Noir 2005 - From Alto Adige. Surprisingly light color. Chocolatey, toffee, coffee. New World flavors in an Old World body. Spicy, with a firm finish. Good.

Jay,

I've never heard of anyone decanting Burgundy. Was this an experiment given that the wine was unyielding or do you regularly do this? Have you ever had success decanting Burgundy?

Jay,

I've never heard of anyone decanting Burgundy. Was this an experiment given that the wine was unyielding or do you regularly do this? Have you ever had success decanting Burgundy?

Tom, were you Max's sommelier?
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13655&p=114078&hilit=decanting+burgundy#p114078

I certainly decant Burgundy (and Nebbiolo) less than I do say Syrah or Cabernet based wines, but I do decant older ones where I expect serious sediment, and sometimes younger ones where I'm sure there going to be tight (or if I open and find tight). I'm part of a wine group with a writer primarily known for Burgundy, he certainly decants (we drink blind). Certainly some Burgundy producers decant sometimes.

Dale,

Thanks. I can honestly say that I've NEVER had a positive outcome decanting Burgundy and I'm really surprised that you decant old Burgundy. My experience has always been that the older the Burgundy the more likely it is to fall apart with "air" and "time".

I can honestly say that I've NEVER had a positive outcome decanting Burgundy and I'm really surprised that you decant old Burgundy.

Not even for sediment?

Rahsaan,

I normally stand up the wine for at least 5 days before and its handled carefully from the wine cellar to the table. I honestly don't think there's any value in decanting fine Burgundy.

I also find the following somewhat silly...

Comment: Some people, who've actually enjoyed it longer than he has, find Pinot Noir wines sensitive to sediment, and not badly affected by decanting shortly before service, which removes the sediment. That's why they decant.

What this is saying is that the mere presence of sediment hurts the wine and decanting and then pouring it into a glass improves the wine. I find that very hard to believe.

I find it very hard to believe that if we took two bottles of 20 year old DRC RC which had been stood up for a week and we carefully pour a glass from bottle A and then decant bottle B and then pour a glass the result is a superior glass B because the wine has been seperated from the sediment. Of course if you actually get sediment in glass A then, of course, glass B will be better but that's not what I'm talking about here.

Note that glass B could be better for other reasons but I find it hard to believe its better because the sediment was removed 2 minutes before you drank it. This certainly isn't true with Bordeaux and Vintage Port.

OK, flame away!

Tom:

I agree with you 100% when it comes to older or mature Burgundy; I'll stand the bottle for a few days ahead of time and/or serve it in a bottle cradle (which is how they serve the reds in the restaurants in Bourgogne). Recently, however, I purchased some 2005 Gevrey "Les Evocelles" (a village lieux-dit) from Domaine De La Vougeraie, and had a bottle with dinner (not decanted) and found it a bit one-dimensional and reticent; I tried a second bottle later on, but this time, I gently decanted it; it really improved the bouquet & texture of the wine after 1-2 hours of air.

So, when committing infanticide on a nice red from a solid vintage, IMO decanting can help.

Marco

Jay,

I've never heard of anyone decanting Burgundy. Was this an experiment given that the wine was unyielding or do you regularly do this? Have you ever had success decanting Burgundy?

Not an experiment. When I got to the restaurant the Lageder and the Jadot were already decanted. My wine, the Drouhin was not decanted although the restaurant offered to do it for me. I have observed that the owner of the Jadot nearly always decants is wines although I have never asked him why.

Dale,

Thanks. I can honestly say that I've NEVER had a positive outcome decanting Burgundy and I'm really surprised that you decant old Burgundy. My experience has always been that the older the Burgundy the more likely it is to fall apart with "air" and "time".

I actually don't find well stored old Burgundy that delicate as a rule. I tend to find if anything older Burgs tend to put on weight in the glass. If they are going to fall apart from a decant, they'd fall apart in glass, too, I'd assume. I don't generally decant well in advance as I might do with a younger Bordeaux, but I generally decant for sediment with all but the most fragile . As to most of the serious Burg collectors I know of. Certainly Burghound and Gilman aren't anti-decanting, and Broadbent says " I personally consider that all red Burgundy should be decanted. It is far safer"

In any case, in this case we're not talking old, a '99 Jadot GC is likely to be awfully tight/closed, and I'd say falling apart would be unlikely. YMMV.

[David M. Bueker]

Maureen Nelson frequently decants Burgundy. I've started doing it as well, since I don't always have time to linger over a bottle for the 4 or 5 hours it may take to just open in the glass.

I've never found the wines too fragile for a gentle decant.