HDH BURGUNDY AUCTION - Chicago, IL (3/28/2015)
One of the best (and longest) auctions that HDH has ever hosted at Tru. Fantastic drinks, food, service, and company. Great to meet so many friends, both old and new.
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NV Vilmart & Cie Champagne Grand Cellier Brut - France, Champagne
Apple-fresh on the nose, with a very juicy and approachable character. Lovely juiciness on the palate as well. Quite linear and fresh, with a good green apple character. Open and very delicious. (90 pts.) -
2004 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Very pale colour. Light sulphur, chalk, lemon on the nose. The palate has acidity that is even more powerful than usual. Lots of salt water and lemon juice, but that belies an amazing palate density. Rich unctuous texture. This is what chardonnay is all about. (95 pts.) -
2012 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
So I suppose with the reputation of these wines to pox, the sulphur regimen has really been bumped up. The palate is almost bitter thanks to that, but this displays very lovely peach and ripe stone fruit tones, a moderate amount of power, and much more litheness than I’d expect. Moderate acidity. (93 pts.) -
2011 Weingut Keller Westhofener Kirchspiel Riesling trocken - Germany, Rheinhessen
Peaches, pineapple, very fragrant and light fruit onn the nose. Despite its designation as trocken, this has a very pleasant fruit character about it on the palate, almost coming off with a slight bit of residual sugar. Lithe, racy, and good acidity. Very pleasant. (90 pts.) -
1997 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
Showing a bit better than my previous bottle. The nose was very powerful and aromatic. Good stems, earth, mushroom, rust, red fruit, and all good things Burgundy. The palate is a slight bit astringent, with lovely stem character. Rusty but very powerful. Lots of acidity that holds the ripeness of 1997 back. (93 pts.) -
2006 Gros Frère et Sœur Clos Vougeot Musigni - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Moderately dark in colour, this has a distinct dark red beet aroma. Kind of weird. Is it that grey rot? It’s really not showing very much – just a bit of dark fruit. Coarse tannins. What’s going on? -
1991 Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Very lovely nose with notes of tart pineapple, almonds, and peaches. The palate is very dense and rich, with a profound nuttiness on the finish. Lovely acidity a la ripe stone fruit. Great stuff. (90 pts.) -
1996 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Lovely, soaring aromatics, despite an initial underwhelming dirty earthy nose. The air has really cleaned out those unpleasant notes, and this is showing lovely red fruit and pure florals after a few hours of air. The palate still has some good tannic presence, but this is almost fully resolved at this point. (93 pts.) -
2004 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé - France, Champagne
In the spirit of internet messaging boards: first! The nose has very pretty florals and cranberry. Very light and pretty, tons of lithe acidity; racy, and tart but very gentle and demure. A fantastic rose. (95 pts.) -
1969 Domaine Clair-Daü Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Significant bricking on the nose. Very powerful aromatics on the nose: floral, light rust, sweet fruit, plums. Lovely ripe fruit on the palate with gentle dusty tannins. Very pretty acidity. Words fail me here – this, I suppose, is why people age their Burgundy. Wow. (95 pts.) -
1993 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Beast wine. Super powerful dustiness and earth on the nose. The palate has incredible density – must be coming from the old vines. Chock full of delicious black fruit. Tannins are still very big. This still has very much life and will easily last for the next two or three decades. (93 pts.) -
2009 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
From jeroboam. Good whiff of sulphur on the nose, and some limestone behind it. Very ripe and powerful on the palate, with a lot of power and density, but lovely lime acidity on the palate. Quite mineral and linear, and this fortunately doesn’t show much of the fatness of the vintage. (93 pts.) -
2003 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Nuits St. Georges - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges
Burnt rubber. Lots of sweet fruit on the palate. Good acidity, but that nose is terrifying. NR (flawed) -
1995 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
Initially this was totally shut down and just not showing anything at all. Fast forward six hours. Tons of density on the palate, with some lovely tart red fruit, lively acidity, and very big tannins. Very Corton in its stature, and I imagine that my assessment of this from four years back is somewhat wrong. Well-kept bottles have a lot of potential still! (93 pts.) -
1990 Giovanni Corino Barolo Vigna Giachini - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Bright cherry colour. The palate is very lively – light and restrained, but showing very pretty red fruit. Not hot at all, this shows a lovely composure. Not exactly traditional, this has very good polish to it. So much fruit on the palate, the slow oxidation has done this wonders. Loved this. (93 pts.) -
1985 Haegelen-Jayer Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Perhaps a bit more aromatic initially than now, this started fading into rust on the nose. The palate shows quite a bit of dirty funkiness, earth, and a lot of rust. Very rustic style. (88 pts.) -
2002 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Very ripe and big. Showing tons of oak. Ripe, fleshy, and a lot of ripe fruit on the palate. There is a lot of oak on the palate as well. Very, very young; I don’t know how the oak will integrate. This needs many, many years, to be sure. (88 pts.) -
1996 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Served blind with the 1997; I misguessed them, based on a surprising somewhat ripe red fruit on the nose that I’ve experienced with other 1997s. The pronounced stems on the nose should have told me otherwise. Very pungent. Super stemmy on the palate as well, this definitely doesn’t have the same opulence that Jeremy has since brought to the estate. On the other hand, there is immense restraint. Lovely brown spice, stems, and still chewy tannins. I liked this more than the 1997. (93 pts.) -
1997 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Served blind alongside the 1996. This had more pronounced ripe fruit notes on the nose (which I really should have picked out correctly). The palate has very lovely acidity, no sur-maturite, lovely acid and bright fruit. More accessible than the sterner and intellectual 1996, but it’s very hard to pick a favourite between the two (though if pressed, I’ll go with the 1996). (93 pts.) -
2006 Henri Boillot Volnay 1er Cru Les Fremiets - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Very powerful and dense black fruit on the nose. Also shows some very clear oak influence on the nose and palate. Very good balance, not showing too much of everything, I really like the restraint here despite the big, bold, and sappy fruit. (90 pts.) -
2007 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
Bottle 3476. Intense, pronounced aromatics on the nose, with red flowers, cranberries, So damn pretty, just as I remembered. This has held together much better than I would have expected. The palate has the same floral tart fruit flavours. Fantastic stuff – my archetypical Burgundy. (93 pts.) -
1989 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Corton - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
There’s a slight bit of sulphur or burnt rubber or something like that but it’s not overwhelming. Wow, this just absolutely explodes on the nose with powerful red fruit and spices. Surprisingly bright with lots of ripe red fruit on the palate as well. Despite its ripeness, there is a lovely vein of acidity. Tannins are quite coarse, this still has an uncompromising structure. (95 pts.) -
1997 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
Bottle 302. Very potent nose with iron and dense red ripe fruit. The palate also is quite dense with that same character. Quite powerful, and this really holds true to the stereotype of iron fist. Definitely needs much more time. (93 pts.) -
1998 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Very funky nose. The palate is very angular and disjoint with some wild animale notes. Ripe, sweet fruit but a lot of disconcerting bitterness on the palate. Coarse tannins. (85 pts.) -
2001 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Very profound nose, with lots of depth. A slight bit of oakiness, but that’s not a big deal, really. Very powerful dark fruit and spice. The palate has immense power as well. A bit of brown spice, sweet fruit, you know what? This is more of a steakhouse wine than it is a delicate pretty Burgundy. (93 pts.) -
2011 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Popcorn city (though without the butter). Very steely nose, with nostril-singeing intensity. There’s this whole, “where we’re going, we don’t need fruit” thing going on. Intensity is off the charts. Mineral, linear, supremely concentrated, laser-sharp focus. Painful finish that lasts for minutes. (100 pts.) -
2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Pop and pour (yeah, yeah, I know). Very ripe red fruit on the nose. Perversely, this is missing most of the spice that I’d expect from a Vosne grand cru, though it does show a modest amount of oak spice. Very concentrated with surprisingly fresh (for 13 years) fruit on the palate, coupled with a slight bit of umami as well. Very, very sappy. Quite soft and fleshy, and really, this seemed to be a really shapeless bottle of wine to me – it was really lacking in tannic structure and acidity. Maybe air would have helped it along, but I guess today’s not the day to find out. (90 pts.) -
2009 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
This one just doesn’t do it for me. Obviously it’s the vintage, not the wine. Fat, ripe yellow fruit just sits on your palate. The customary salinity and moderate acidity in this wine just can’t wipe that fat off your palate. Don’t get me wrong – this is a fantastic bottle of chardonnay, but it doesn’t hit the heights that Raveneau usually does. (90 pts.) -
1999 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
Sappy red and black fruit on the nose with a lot less of the earthy rusticity one might expect from a Pommard. This is a very big wine with a lot of ripe black fruit on the palate. It’s very lush and just coats the palate. Coarser tannins, but that’s really the only thing that gives a clue as to its terroir. Lots of fruit and structure, this ought to hold for a long, long time. (93 pts.) -
2011 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
The nose was attractive enough, with some bright red fruits, floral aromas, and some light stem notes. But then, the palate: stems. Stems, stems, stems. It isn’t green, but it sure is off-putting. And I’m generally not one to shy away from stems, but this was just too much. Pass. (83 pts.)
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