TN: White Burgundy Blind: Dead or Alive?

WHITE BURGUNDY BLIND: DEAD OR ALIVE? - Home of Chef Andrew Plummer, East Greenbush, NY (7/16/2015)

My regular Albany-area group got together to taste an assortment of white Burgundy. The overriding factor was premox (premature oxidation). In fact, it wasn’t hard to predict which wines would be good or bad based on their color. In general, the light yellow colored wines were excellent, while the amber colored wines were dead.

For pix and more commentary, see this post on my website:
http://www.finewinegeek.com/tn/2015-07-16_WCC_White-Burgs_Andy/

Flight 1: Meursault
Octopus and Diver Scallops with Heirloom Tomato, Meyer Lemon, Fresh Herbs, and Tsume (an eel reduction sauce often served with eel sushi).

• 2008 Louis Latour Meursault 1er Cru Charmes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
  Light yellow color. Crisp citrus nose. In the mouth, crisp with a hint of fizz on the tongue. Young, fresh, tasty. Sadly, the only decent bottle in this flight. (93 pts.)
• 2008 Domaine Matrot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
  Amber color. Rotten banana nose. Bitter on the palate. Off. NR (flawed)
• 1995 Remoissenet Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
  Amber color. Fishy nose. A touch oxidized. Otherwise just blah. NR (flawed)
• 1988 Albert Grivault Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
  Amber color. Dirty, fishy nose. Long fishy finish. Nasty. NR (flawed)

Flight 2: Puligny and Chassagne
Lobster Consommé: Poached Lobster, Celeriac Custard, and Aromatic Vegetables.

• 2011 Domain Henri Darnat Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
  Light straw color Crisp, buttery nose. Thick, crisp with an appealing bitterness on the finish. (92 pts.)
• 2009 Olivier Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
  Light yellow color. Big buttery nose. Big and rich in the mouth. Classic white Burgundy. Reminds me of the 2000 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet I had last week. (95 pts.)
• 2007 Louis Jadot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanée - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
  Amber color. Lightly oxidized nose. OK in the mouth, but probably a bad bottle. NR (flawed)
• 2009 Blain-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
  Light yellow color. Muted marzipan nose. Crisp, delicious and complex in the mouth. Expansive. Excellent. Group WOTN. (94 pts.)
• 1989 Remoissenet Père et Fils Montrachet Le Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
  Amber color. No nose. Lightly oxidized, but still appealing. Now that I see the vintage, this one is probably right for its age, not premoxed. (88 pts.)

Flight 3: Chablis
Wild Mushroom Risotto with Locally Foraged Golden Chanterelles, Black Trumpets, Snow White Summer Oysters, and Parmigiano.

• 2012 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis 1er Cru Les Vaucoupins - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
  Light yellow. Big buttery nose. Complex minerals. Young, crisp complex and delicious. Should drink well for at least 5-10 years. My WOTN, which was nice since I brought it! Group #2 WOTN. (96 pts.)
• 2010 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Valmur - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
  Light yellow. Huge buttery in the nose and mouth. A delicious, complex young wine. Group #4 WOTN. (95 pts.)
• 2009 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Cote de Bouguerots - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
  Light yellow. Stunning nose. Rich and complex. A wow wine. My #2 WOTN. Group #3 WOTN. (96 pts.)
• 2004 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Valmur - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
  Light yellow. Rich, thick, complex, naked and raw in a good sense. I would not have guessed that this is 5 years older than the previous wine. (94 pts.)

Flight 4: Corton-Charlemagne
Pan Roasted East Coast Halibut Encrusted with Shallots and Toasted Corn with Red Quinoa, Sweet Pea Puree, and Corn Creme.

• 2008 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
  Light, almost clear yellow. Complex marzipan and lemon custard nose. Crisp, young. Good bottles should improve for 5 more years. 93-95 (94 pts.)
• 2002 Domaine Maurice et Anne-Marie Chapuis Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
  Medium-dark yellow. Big lemon custard nose. Crisp, tart, flavorful. Still unresolved, but comes brilliantly into focus with the halibut. 95 points with the halibut! (93 pts.)
• 2000 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
  Light yellow. Muted lemon custard nose. Crisp and complex. Plenty of life ahead. (94 pts.)
• 1994 Remoissenet Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne Diamond Jubilee - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
  Amber color. Sherry nose. Completely oxidized. Undrinkable. NR (flawed)

When they’re good, they’re very good. When they’re bad, they’re very bad. Three of the top four wines were in the Chablis flight.

Posted from CellarTracker

I think it’s pretty clear that 07s and 08s are now in the danger zone on premox. I haven’t heard of many 09s and 10s yet, but if they aren’t yet, it’s only a matter of time, it’s basically just a rolling window.

I should probably plan to drink my 08s and 09s this year; the potential development over the next few years, if it’s even any meaningful amount, isn’t worth ending up dumping the bottle down the drain.

Thanks for the notes. The consistently poor showing of the older Remoissenet whites surprises me, though, as oxidation has not been a problem with bottles I’ve had of any of the wines in your tasting, and the last 1989 Montrachet I tried a couple of years ago from magnum was spectacular and youthful. I wonder if the bottles at your tasting may have been cooked somewhere along the way, or if I’ve just been fortunate.

i don’t even need to open an 08 matrot to know it’s gonna be oxidized.

Or a 2013

I was expecting a more creative thread title from Ken. How about “White Burgundy Blind: Will it float?”

Matrot is the poster child for premox. You lucked out w BdM and anything Gagnard.

By coincidence, I had the 2009 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Montrachet a couple of weeks before and it was very similar to the 2009 Blain-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet. Both very young and seemingly with a lot of potential. Are these wineries related?

related. Google “Blain-Gagnard and Fontaine-Gagnard” and Underground Wine Letter has a nice history.

And people say Barolo is complicated.

I don’t get that one.

“Will it float” was a bit they did on David Letterman, where they would throw something/anything into a big tub of water and predict if it would float or not. Best part was the attractive girl in skimpy clothes with an electric grinder she would use to shoot sparks off her outfit. While reading your thread I just pictured doing an “is it premoxed” tasting under the same conditions

At our monthly dinner last night, the X-Pensive Winos drank a foursome of '08 Fevre Grand Crus that included Bougros, Bougros Cote de Bouguerots, Preuses, and Clos. The Clos was horribly oxidized. The other three were sound and delicious.