In honor of Claude Kolm’s visit a month ago, a group of us assembled for dinner at Amali, taking advantage of the no-corkage Mondays policy (with prior somm approval). It was a lovely evening all around, with terrific food, impeccable service and good company. My notes are brief as the conversation was too engrossing to labor with pen in hand. Everything was decanted, mostly at the outset, so the later reds had been open for 90 minutes or more before we really dug in. The nebbiolos could have used considerably longer. (Claude contributed a marvelous Champagne that I somehow didn’t record.)
2009 Moric - Gruner Veltliner (from magnum). A revelation. Intense minerals, big bodied but with very good acid. Mineral, flint, minerals, flint, minerals. Intriguing and distinctive. I ordered a GV by the glass in a restaurant a few months ago and wondered why I don’t drink them more often. But this was at another level of complexity. 91+
2000 Groffier – Chambolle-Musigny – Les Sentieres. “Modern” was how several people described this. I’m not sure I’d put it that way, though the oak was fairly noticeable on the nose and it was bit monochromatic. In the mouth, it was gorgeous – pure Chambolle strawberries. Not terribly complex, but silky. The fruit is still fairly primary but you can feel the maturity in the structure. The oak is nicely melded in the mouth. 89+ 1988 Roty – Gevrey-Chambertin – Fontenys. Tough sledding. Very tannic. Not much fruit. Others like this more than me. 84
1995 Cappellano – Barolo - Otin Fiorin – Pie Franco. Just gorgeous. Great grip, still very young. Needs at least 10 more years. 92
1998 Giacosa – Barbaresco – Asili. Lovely floral nose. Feminine in the mouth notwithstanding the tannins. Slowly opening up. Quite tannic and taught. Someone posted here a few months back that this was entering its window, so I brought this. Needs another 10 years for my tastes. 90-92 at the moment.
I love Moric…I wish they were easier to find and more affordable. If you can ever source one of their single vineyard Blaufränkisch (Neckenmarkter was the one I had) for under $100 I’d say it’s worth it.
Was this the 2009 Moric Sankt Georgen Gruner Veltliner? I found that wine essentially undrinkable on release on account of the alcohol and and the lashing of structure it imposed on my tongue. Interesting to hear that it has really opened up and found some balance. I wonder if I should try one of the 2010s I had stashed away.
2006 Moric Neckenmarkter Blaufrankisch was a revelation for me. But it used to cost $49 back then. Now the only bottles available on Winesearcher in any vintage appear to be over $100.
John, Try the $30. It’s the entry level BF and very nice. It’ll give you a good idea of what this grape tastes like. Also look for Umathum which is more of a AFWE style. Their entry level version is around $20.
Both are very good, the reserve I found fantastic in 2007, but somewhat disappointing in 2008, which I drank a couple of months ago.
When it’s on is the best QPR in the Moric lineup.
And by the way here in Europe the regular is 20-ish and the reserve 30-ish…
I opened the Groffier a week ago and it had an incredibly candied quality to the fruit on the nose that I can see being perceived as new world. But really came across as Burgundian in the mouth. I agree it’s not the most complex wine. I opened another bottle yesterday and it was very barnyard-y. Others enjoyed it more than I did.
For Groffier, it is very important to keep in mind the differences between the older generation and the current new generation. Son Nicolas is making some incredible wines these days, with the '13s off the charts to my taste…
Yes yes, disclaimer I import and sell his wines for those of you who spaz about such things.
The only time I visited the estate, in 1988 (so didn’t taste this wine) I thought this was one backward, old style estate. In that era, many estates had changed to more modern and cleaner winemaking, but not Roty (at least then; I have no idea since, though I did buy a case of the '90 Bourgogne, drunk too young). I always wondered about the '86 and '87s I tasted that day and how they evolved, But, I was not motivated to find them or buy any.
I would assume the Roty wines from the '80s (like with Maume’s) need lots of aeration at this point. How could that aeration allows them to be, though…I have no idea, but am interested.
Groffier used to do that weird high temp fermentation that lead to a lot of bitter extraction, almost like a burnt coffee note, but also a lot of density. I loathed it but I could see why other folks would like it, it was a very distinctive style. Has that changed?
Burnt coffee would, almost always, be from either reduction or from very toasty barrels. Dense/high extract wines are more prone to reduction, but this almost always goes away with enough time in bottle.