Blair was our host for Sunday poker about a week and a half back. And again, we were rewarded with lots of Burgundy (though we were never explicitly told that all the wines were Burgundies). All wines were served blind. We were only told that each pair of reds was from the same vintage and village, but one from a higher designated vineyard site than the other. We were asked to guess the village, the vintage and which was the higher-level cru and then were given points for correct guesses. While I think I came in a distant second in scoring, I felt like I never even hit one out of the infield...
2005 Gunderloch Riesling Nackenheim Rothenberg Spatlese. This was a stand-alone starter wine served double-blind. Although I heard some other guesses, to me this could be nothing other than young Riesling from Germany. It is redolent of blue slate, petrol, nectarine, cherry pits and musk. On the palate, it has a rich bottom note and an oily, seamless texture. There’s an easy sensibility to the apricot and nectarine fruit and enough of a nick of acidity for freshening balance.
Flight 1:
2000 David Duband Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey. I think Blair had this tabbed as a village wine, but I believe it is actually a premier cru. In any event, it is a faded garnet color, with some cloudiness to its appearance. The nose is gentle and quiet, with aromas of worn suede, creamy raspberry, dried cherries and faded red flower petals. Some soft pretty spices find their way into the mix as it slowly opens up, but it never really rises above being soft and reserved. In the mouth, it shows no real tannins, but it is a very dry wine with an acidic spine and some crunchy minerality. The faded fruit is more of an after-thought than anything else, but a vibrant and very long finish brings some redemption. Overall, it is tingly and nervy, but quite dry and bordering on austere.
2000 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les St Georges. I heard other people around me stating definitively that this was corked, and indeed when I sniffed the bottle before pouring my glass it did smell quite musty. But once it was in my glass, I just never could get it to show any signs of TCA despite everyone else’s assurances that it was there. What I do smell is an earthy pungency of dried leaves, bridle leather, turned earth, cocoa, persimmon, and dried spiced cranberries. In the mouth, it is showing much less acidity and more fruit than its flight-mate. Red cherry, soft raspberry and chalk flavors show more oomph and density, but are still quite dry-edged in spite of a soft easy texture and minimal tannin presence. To me, both of these wines seemed older, so my guess on vintage was way off.
Flight 2:
1998 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambetin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers. This shows aromas of sweaty saddle leather, black cherry, brown grape stems, dark cranberries, espresso grains and dried leaves on the nose. In the mouth, it is quite juicy and tangy, with abundant red berry and savory notes. It has a lot more stuffing than either wine from the previous flight, but it is again a wine I find to be on the dry side. Tannins are resolved, the body is somewhat plump and the acidity is present but quiet.
1998 Domaine Jean et Jean-Louis Trapet Grand Cru Chambertin. The color of this wine is a touch darker and further out toward the rim than its flight-mate. The nose is nicely mysterious—with dark-roasted coffee bean, sweet creosote, walnut oil, black bean and black cherry aromas combining into a silky mélange riding above glimpses of sweeter fruit hiding below. I really like the nose, and there are some positive things on the palate, as well, such as a solid density of flavor. However, it has a tough, austere edge to it at times and also an obvious tannic structure. The black cherry, tangy red berry, coffee and black bean flavors have nice character, but the wine finishes super-dry.
Intermezzo for crab cake sandwiches:
N.V. Pierre Gimonnet Champagne 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs. This was served from a magnum disgorged in late April of 2008. It has a very overt nose featuring a sharp aromatic definition. It throws out crisp scents of smoke, river rocks, graphite, dark ginger, yeast and apple tart that are very persistent. It feels youthful and tightly-structured in the mouth, and seems very driven and long. Flavors of smoke-tinged minerals, prickly herbs, chalk, lemon sour ball and lime pith are solid and tangy. Overall, it is quite nice and a good match with the crab cake sandwiches.
2005 Huet Vouvray Sec Clos du Bourg. Nice aromas of beeswax, lanolin, lemon oil, wet rocks, dried grapefruit, steel wool and green herbs say top-quality Chenin Blanc to me. In the mouth, it is rounded and yielding, with a fleshy feel to it. A fine tingle of acidity pumps life into fruit that is dense, full and moderately weighty. It is a really enjoyable wine all around—giving up plenty of dried citrus and mineral flavors and finishing well-balanced and controlled.
Flight 3:
1999 Maison Leroy Volnay. This wine features a somewhat velvety nose of sweet raspberry and cherry, leather, forest plants and drying tobacco leaf, along with tar oil and musky side notes that I really like. It has a real soft character in the mouth, with limpid body and nice fuzzy fruit. It features more body and less austerity than any wine from the first two flights—feeling seamless and silky, with just a bit of furry tannins coming in late. It has fine balance and length on the finish, with a much fruitier after-taste than anything before it. This was my #4 favorite wine of the tasting.
1999 Domaine Carre-Courbin Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds. This wine sports aromas of soft gardenia, fresh raspberries, cool forest ferns and later on some creamy mocha. It has a relatively good deal of body in the mouth, with an excellent squirt of acidity and juicy fruit through the middle. It has a nice creamy character with a good amount of grip. The acidity grows a bit over-bearing on the finish, but a little cellar time ought to help integrate that component. There is good stuffing here and good hope for future development.
Flight 4:
2001 Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny. On the surface, this wine presents a cool and classy aromatic face of black cherries, smoldering embers and leather, but it is clear that it is holding back a deeper well of warmer and sweeter notes of cranberry and confectionary raspberry. It keeps drawing one back, hoping to unlock the gate to that greater complexity, but for now it remains a bit aloof. In the mouth, it is very creamy, very fresh, very balanced. The tannins are gentle and matted, the acidity is just right, and the flavor profile of red licorice rope, cranberry juice and wild rhubarb has decent appeal. Right now, though, it seems the wine is playing it a bit safe, waiting for another time to show all it truly has in reserve.
2001 Domaine Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Gruenchers. The second wine in the flight has a much more immediate nose to it—with fleshy raspberry fruit buttressed by aromas of cool fireplace ash, forest greens and creamy milk chocolate that just really connect with my nasal receptors for some reason. In the mouth, it is fleshy and sappy on the entry and turns a bit more fresh and lithe with red berry tang running through the middle. It has plenty of body and feels bright and tingly with acids and fine wood spices on the finish. It seems really eager and lithe, yet substantial and welcoming. This is nicely done and was my #2 wine of the day.
Flight 5:
1998 Domaine Jean Tardy et Fils Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Chaumes. Oh man, now this is what I call a fabulous bouquet! It is so soft, sexy and feminine—with perfumed notes of mixed wild flowers, fuzzy sweet raspberries, cherry pie, wood spices galore and weedy pipe tobacco. It is just gorgeous. In the mouth, it has too much of a drying cut to it at times, but otherwise it shows a lot of similar traits as on the nose. Flavors of sweet raspberries and cherries and all kinds of tingly spices are quite pretty. The tannins are present but appropriately integrated. I just wish it was a bit more rounded. If the follow-through on the palate had matched the stunningly good bouquet, this would have been my run-away wine of the night, but as it is I’ll say it was #3.
1998 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. Of all the wines poured, this wine is the most cloudy in appearance. On the nose, it is somewhat darker in character than its flight-mate, but it has its own way of expressing itself that is nearly as engaging—with fine aromas of warm leather, drying tobacco leaf, fuzzy black raspberry, dark chocolate, earthy spices and fresh herb notes. In the mouth, it has a fine leesy feel to it as it totally fills all the corners of the mouth with its voluminous sour cherry and spice flavors. Yet, it has fine pin-point acidity that provides great definition to a wine of such dimension. The finish has a very appealing sweet edge to it and lasts a good long while. My wine of the day.
This was the only flight where I reasoned out the commune correctly (though I was guessing 1997), and it was also my favorite flight without question.
Bonus bottles:
2006 Louis Jadot Savigny-Les-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode. This was empty by the time I got to it. No notes. Being the good friends they are, several people tried to console me as they attempted to convince me this was the wine of the night…
2001 Ojai Syrah Melville Vineyard Santa Rita Hills. Now for something completely different! My notes are a bit sketchy as I was in the middle of a Wii golf tournament by this time. Also, this was not served blind. In any event, it smells of roast beef au jus, raw hamburger, sweet creosote, boysenberry, black currant and holiday fruit cake. In the mouth, it is certainly chewy-textured, but one also senses a surprising elegant streak running through it. It has flavors of plum and blueberry fruit that are solid and dense without being over-done. The tannins are there, but pretty much go with the flow. A lingering finish again shows some surprising elegance.
-Michael
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