No wine Tuesday with roast chicken, potatoes, mushrooms, and broccoli,
Wednesday roast striped bass, braised kale, yellow rice, and salad, wine was the 2022 Bzikot Bourgogne Blanc Cote d’Or. Pear, a little lemon curd, taut minerally finish. Not really complex but decent value. B
Dan wanted to look at some 2001s, John agreed to host a 2001 and older Burg tasting last night. We arrived to find friendly dogs, nice cheeses (Manchego, Delice de Bourgogne, Robiola, Reblochon, Humboldt Fog) and charcuterie (duck rillettes, prosciutto, saucisson).
2004 Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs Brut Millesime
Bright, energetic, green apple and lemon zest, brioche, an interesting celery seed note. Really fun. A-
2004 Charles Heidsieck “Blanc des Millenaires” Brut Millesime
Rounder and sweeter, I thought higher dosage, but others opine it just hasn’t absorbed dosage yet (only been released few years). But I preferred the Pol Roger. B
On to the reds
2001 Fourrier “Combes aux Moines” Gevrey-Chambertin 1er
Young and a bit tannic, some meaty notes, good black cherry fruit. B/B+
2001 Jadot “Clos St. Jacques” Gevrey-Chambertin 1er
Big, young, red fruit, spicy, lovely creamy texture, really enjoyable with a long future. A-
2001 Jacky Truchot “les Ruchots” Morey St. Denis 1er
OMG. Really that Truchot magic. Bright red cherry and strawberry fruit, campfire and grilled meat, weightless but with an endless finish. Why we drink Burgundy. (note: Ruchots wasn’t normally imported to US. I also asked about label which says Jacky Truchot, not Truchot-Martin, apparently a change in last years he was producing). A-/A
2001 Chevillon “les Vaucrains” Nuits St. Georges 1er
Distinct (and nice) gamey note, powerful black cherry fruit, plenty of acid and tannin but in balance. B+ for drinking now, will be better.
Dan did a 2001 Mystery Burgundy flight, for first wine I got Chambolle and les Cras on my first 2 guesses (unusual, not a great blind taster), but thought second was a Gevrey GC -should have stopped while ahead.
#1 - feminine, elegant, red and black cherries,perfumed, black truffle, espresso. Just lovely, though with time it seemed to harden a bit and get a tannic edge. 2001 Roumier “les Cras” Chambolle-Musigny 1er A-/B+ for most of the tasting
#2 - big, dense, not the freshest wine. Some air did it some good, but not loving considering how much this cost. 2001 Roumier Bonne-Mares B/B+
A bubble break while John cooked the duck breast. And here is where our luck changed
1990 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs
Deep golden color, a bit oxidized, some call it corked , any way a bit off- too bad as it can be a great great wine.
Duck breast with a cherry sauce, couscous
1996 Chevillon “les Perrieres”Nuits St. Georges 1er
Lightly but distinctly corked
1996 Chevillon “les Roncieres” Nuits St. Georges 1er
A bit tough, touch lifted, some black cherry and earth. OK but not what I hoped for. B
1993 Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Beze
Very Jadot, very Beze, very 1993. Young and structured (acids and tannin), earth, darker fruits, both finesse and power. B+ for now, gonna be better
1985 Georges Noellat Romanee-St.-Vivant
Corked! As to the wine underneath, the memorable quote was “is there Pinot Noir in here?”
1978 Bouree Clos de la Roche
Muted, some discussion as to whether corked, off bottle.
John didn’t want us to finish that way, so 2 more blind wines, I only tasted first as second declared off before making around table (John had to be wrestled to the ground to keep from opening a replacement, it was late!)
Blind- a little awkward at first (“2 arms, 11 elbows” was one description), I liked more than table, acids, red fruit and forest floor. I thought older village Gevrey. 1976 Jadot Boudots NSG 1er (phone made it “Boy Dots”) B/B-
A 1974 Sterling was past it, too bad as that can be a great wine.
Really fun night with really good old friends, even if we had a run of off bottles at end
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.