CHAMBERTIN & CLOS DE BEZE x 28 in Graz

OK, I´ll give it another try:

Chambertin & Ch.Clos de Beze-tasting in Graz a week ago.

1st flight:
#1: Chambertin 2000Trapet: quite bright, aromatic, elegant, medium length, 90p
#2: Clos de Beze 2003/Jadot: darker, saturated, youthful, long, fine balance, 93p
#3: Clos de Beze 2003/Drouhin-Laroze: saturated, plummy nose, oak (smoked meat), … 91p
#4: Clos de Beze 2001/Bart (from Mag): brighter, lively acidity, elegant and accessable, very nice core and finish, 94p

group: 15 votes for #2, 5 for #4

2nd flight:
#5: Le Chambertin 1985/Rodet: slight dust blew off, bright mature bricky red, slightly sweet, relly fine follow through, fine, 93p
#6: Clos de Beze 1985/Domaine Marion-Bouchard Ainé: mature red, full and sweet, very nice balance and length, 92p
#7: Chambertin Heritiers de Latour 1983/Latour: brighter, noticable acidity, but good grip and intensity, fine drink for dinner, 93p
#8: Clos de Beze 1990/Damoy: slightly darker, forthcoming berry nose, really soft and sweet, but complex, very feminine, 94p

group: 7 / 2 / 2 / 10

3rd flight:
#9: Chambertin 2005/Bouchard Pere: full but rather bright ruby, intense but accessable but intense, fine structure, balanced, long, 94p
#10: Chambertin 1999/Tortochot: full ruby, initially quite aromatic, fine concentration, but I couldn´t get over a certain rusticity, and the finish was slightly bitter, I think slightly TCA-tainted, but I was almost alone, NR, but a correct bottle should be excellent
#11: Clos de Beze 1999/B.Clair: the darkest, toasty but well integrated, full-berried, fine finish, 93p
#12: Chambertin 1998/F.Esmonin: full colour, noticable acidity, nose a bit neutral, full-bodied but lacking finesse, 89p

group: 7 / 1 / 7 / 4

4th flight:
#13: Clos de Beze 1979/Remoissenet: quite dark, spicy, quite sweet, lacking finesse, a bit artificial (reconditioned?), 88p
#14: Chambertin 1979/Bouchard Pere: fine mature colour, heavily corked, NR
#15: Chambertin 1979/Louis Remy: very bright colour, sweet-sour, slightly oxydized, drinkable, a mystery (good fill of 3.5 cm), app. 80p
#16: Chambertin 1976/Camus: good mature colour, slight hints of oxidation, but it got better with air, gained intensity and elegance, but not a fine bottle despite its 4.5 cm fill (a participant had a much better bottle in spring), improved and could have been 90+p an hour later …

group: 9 / - / 1 / 9 (but without enthusiasm)
A strange flight, ´79 Burgundies are usually fine on this level, and the fills were good after 30 years …

5th flight:
#17: Clos de Beze 1998/Drouhin: full colour, quite masculine, mouthfilling, but not showing great complexity, maybe slightly closed, 90p
#18: Chambertin 1993/Ponsot: fine colour, heavily corked, NR, a pity
#19: Chambertin 1996/Fery-Meunier: fruity, red and dark berries, sweet on the palate, intense, only a slightly dry finish, detracted a bit, 91p
#20: Clos de Beze 1996/J.Raphet: quite bright but saturated red, forthcoming elegant floral nose, excellent balance, sweet and lingering, great balance, 96p

group: 0 / - / 3 / 13

6th flight:
#21: Clos de Beze 1966/Maison Leroy: medium bright red, fine nose, balanced and long, but not exceptional, 91p
#22: Clos de Beze 1957/Lebeque: intense nose, noticable acidity, hints of oxidation, but enjoyable, perfect food-wine, 87p
#23: Chambertin 1962/Jaboulet-Vercherre: bricky red, orange peels, clear oxidation, also a bit short, drinkable but over the hill, 79p
#24: Chambertin 1949 Tastevinage/Thorin: quite full mature red, intense nose of berries, underwood, moose, very complex, soft and sweet, but lively, great showing, 97p

group: 4 / 0 / 0 / 16

7th flight:
#25: Clos de Beze 1990/Gelin: full colour, nose a bit neutral, sweet fruit, quite youthful, 91p
#26: Chambertin 1991/Rousseau: darkest colour, intense nose of dark berries, minerality, very sweet, highly elegant, great length, youthful, 98+p
#27: Clos de Beze 1990/Rousseau: slightly brighter, sweeter, definitely more feminine, really singing, almost perfectly mature, 98p
#28: Clos de Beze 1992 /Faiveley: intense fruity nose, soft, sweet and deep, completely open, mouthfilling, long – only a hint of dryness in the finish, 95p

group: 4 / 4 / 6 / 7

applause!!!

Gerhard,

It seems you were working very hard! All kidding aside, what was the vintage on the Raphet?

I’m in awe!! Many thanks for posting this, Gerhard.

Thanks - and sorry: 1996 - already edited!

Nice tasting. I have had that '91 Rousseau and it remains one of the singular greatest wines I have ever tasted. Nice stuff.

Thanks for the notes. I guess there was no surprise with the Rousseau’s doing so well. Mike

Gerhard…where had you been ? Nice to see your post.

Well, ehm … not really - but you never know in advance!
But it was a “risk” to put the Gelin and Faiveley into the last flight - especially the 1992 … but it paid off.

Wonderful exercise. Rousseau is a no brainer.

Fascinating stuff. My case of the 92 Faiveley was a great bringer of joy. What’s intriguing, as ever, is that names that no one would expect to provide decent bottles do so very well.

Gerhard,
really great line-up - sounds very interesting and educational

You haven´t included producers like Domaine Leroy, Prieur, Dugat-Py etc.?
An issue of costs - or other reasons?

Wow! A great evening … those Rousseau are so great …

Nothing but bad luck here with Torchotot … won’t buy them anymore.

Impressive work indeed to gather all these gems together.

But were these great wines intended to be tasted and spitted side by side in a marathon tasting?
The more I see these tasting notes from these huge and prestigious tastings, the more I feel sad for the wines and the vignerons who made them.


Maybe it’s me though…

Cheers

Eric Texier

Eric,
it was indeed intended as an educational tasting, meaning to explore what CHAMBERTIN & CLOS DE BEZE is all about - in different vintages and maturity status, what´s (maybe) the difference between the two Grand Crus, the style and quality of the major producers … and so on …

That doesn´t mean we didn´t enjoy the wines immensly - we had a 4-course-dinner with it - and all in all it lasted from 7 pm until midnight …
Not everybody did really spit (but I did …) - but I´m quite sure that all participants know now what CHAMBERTIN actually can be - and what he isn´t … (e.g. compared with our Musigny- or Vosne- or RSV-tasting …)

Gerhard -

That seems to be the template description for every [although very few] bottle of Domaine Bart I have had!

Did you do these blind?

Ken

Ken,
that was actually my 2nd wine of Bart - and the 1st CdBeze … so I cannot say if its typical for the domaine or for the vintage (maybe both).
As usual all participants had a list of the available wines, although more than 28, but tasted blind - and I was the one who actually put together the flights and decanted the wines … although I did not remember most of the times the exact order in each flight.

Great stuff Gerhard.

Faiveley’s 92’s are indeed very good across the board.

Jeremy,
that´s what I knew … I had the Faiveley 92 CdBeze only once 15 years ago … but several other F-92s over the last 2 years - and all really SANG !

I cannot see the point - does that mean it is forbidden to compare wines in an comprehensive tasting?
As stated in another thread I would see a problem if just prestiguous and expensive wines are collected and opened without any connection or a major theme.
But here it was all about Chambertin - and almost all important producers were represented - so the only think I regret is that I haven´t been there!