Last night we had a nice small tasting of Pinots. We started off with a Pinot dominant Champagne, Blondel Brut Carte d'Or NV which was attractively earthy, floral and figgy with obvious Pinosity. The mousse was a bit on inelegant side, but flavorwise it was very nice. It had a harmonious balance of fruit and acid, though I did find a bit softer than I would like my Champs to be. It is a nice cheap Champ.
Jackson Estate Pinot Noir 2004 was an adequate wine with a very sweet nose, but still typical for the grape. The palate seemed a bit confected and the acidity was rather harsh - it seemed like it was badly added makeup instead of something that belonged in the wine. It was drinkable, even pleasurable, but it was outperformed by the others. I was happy that the oak wasn't as dominant as I had read in some reports.
Nicolas Potel Volnay VV 2001 was a very dark colour. So dark, in fact, that I've not seen anything like it except in Dugat-Py, so I was afraid it was going to be spoofy. But on the contrary it had a lovely (if slightly closed) nose of vegetation, rust/iron and minerals and pure Pinosity. The palate was sturdy and tannic with lovely acidity and tart, young fruit. Long. A very impressive wine and seemed very Volnay-like to me.
This is my first time with this producer. How do Burgundy lovers view them?
Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2001 was lovely as always. It rather reminded me of the Volnay in its almost metallic/rusty notes. It has great Pinosity and is perhaps a touch sweeter in its red toned fruit than the Burgundies today, but is a lovely wine.
Bouchard Père & Fils Le Corton Grand Cru 2002 was a rather stern wine. It had lovely loamy/earthy aromas and though very Burgundian was a rather brooding wine rather than a bright, red toned one. The palate, though perhaps a touch foursquare, was lovely and acidic with pure Pinot fruit and a long and mineral aftertaste. Much better than my previous encounter with this wine. This seems just like what a young Corton should be like. Very nice.
Bouchard Père & Fils Vigne de l'Enfant Jesus Beaune Greves 1er Cru 2003 was weird. The nose was rather chemical, sweet and confected - but not actually as bad as this makes it out to be. Pinosity was evident, but it was a bit freakish. The palate was very fruity, though a little hollow, low in acid but it did have enough to keep it in balance. The aftertaste was very hot. I didn't really care for it, but it is still one of the least bad 2003 Burgundies I've had.
Domaine Trapet Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru 2001 was a bit of an enigma to me. At times the smell was lovely: bright and red toned with an elegant earthiness. At other times dilly oak was noticable. It never was so noticable as to obscure the beautiful Pinosity underneath, but it was enough that I wasn't too enamoured. The palate was lovely, very 2001 in its restrained and bright aromatics and high acidity. I do like it, but did prefer some others tonight.
Again, this is my first time with this producer. How do Burgundy lovers view them?
Töövi Brosseau Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005 is made at Crushpad in California by a friend. One barrel was made: half of the staves new and half used oak. It's typical Californian Pinot with lots of sweet red fruit and typical Pinot aromatics. The palate is sweet and though rather low in acidity it has freshness. The 50% new oak doesn't show - gladly. The 14,3% abv does a little bit, however. A very fair wine if you like the California style.
Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée 2000 was very open and seductive - like so many 2000s have recently been. It was rather sweet and showed much warm year Pinosity. It was savoury though the sweetness carried onto the palate. It had nice earthiness and overall balance. I liked it very much.
Broken record: this is my first time with this producer. How do Burgundy lovers view them?
A very nice evening indeed.
-O-