Our 3+ decade old wine tasting group met recently at one of our member`s classy home to blind taste red Burgundy. Fourteen of us were treated to wonderful appetizers before and during the tasting along with a magnum of the following champagne
2002 LAUNOIS SPECIAL CLUB BRUT BLANC de BLANC- having had quite a few bottles of this powerhouse, I immediately recognized the style which is rich, bold and complex with a plethora of flavors including stone fruit, citrus and apple; it`s a mouthful, so much so, it almost assumes the position of being an appetizer.
We had 3 flights of 5 wines, all brown bagged. My notes reflect sensory perceptions before we discussed and voted on each wine in the flight prior to revealing them after composite scores were tallied.
1st flight of 5:
2005 DOMAINE SIGAUT les CHERIERES MOREY-SAINT DENIS 1ER CRU- somewhat light in red color, this wine showed upfront inviting fruitiness in the nose that continued on and was joined by a nice spiciness which stayed the course all the way to the back end; it was soft and easy on the palate; also evident, but decreasing with time was a touch of matchstick which suggested sulfur to me; eventually the nice red and black fruit profile prevailed and the that was enough for me to upgrade this into a tie for my fav of the flight.
2005 DOMAINE EDMOND CORNU GUYOU les BON ORES CHOREY LES BEAUNE- the nose was redolent of concentrated spicy black fruit with especially black cherry coming in; there was also a noticeable earthy character that broached a bit of Brettanomyces showing up and staying for the course; my #4.
2006 LOUIS JADOT LES FUEES CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY 1ER CRU- the nose was full of fresh red cherries which continued on and was joined by late arriving strawberry notes with some clove finishing it off, all being delivered in a light to medium body; this wine was nicely balanced and a close call for my #1.
2006 LOUIS JADOT CORTON POUGETS GRAND CRU- with a dark deep rich purple color, this suggested an intense and full throttle wine; big and full on it was; powerful, concentrated blackberry, black currant and plum flavors abound; it seemed really youthful with its vibrant expression and I had it as a 2010 or thereabouts; it was my #1 of the flight until I went back and re-tasted all and joined it for a tie for 1st.
I considered offering my stems as a dump bucket for all those who voted down the last 2 wines.
2006 LOUIS JADOT CORTON GREVES GRANC CRU- the aromatics were suggestive of another winner in this first flight and it held up to be such= there was an abundance of spicy fruitiness; the fruit profile change from fresh and ripe fruit to one of exotic wild with a bit of tartness; even then, it pleased with good mouthfeel, complexity and length, but the taste profile reduced the judging result to my #3.
2nd flight of 5 after a great start:
2008 SIMON LA BIZE LES TALMETTES SAVIGNY les BEAUNE 1ER CRU- this had some redeeming qualities to it that included a nice spicy sandalwood laced red and black fruitiness with decent depth; it had good texture and length; compared to some other stars in this flight, I got it as my #3.
1996 JOSEPH DROUHIN CLOS des MOUCHES ROUGE BEAUNE 1ER CRU- the color was a youthful and vibrant dark purple which served to surprise when I saw the vintage; the dark fruit profile was still of primary fresh and ripe; I liked the depth and complexity; it was full bodied and came up a bit short on the finish; my #2.
1997 COMPANEROS BIEN NACIDO VINEYARD PINOT NOIR- from the long established and revered local “home” winemakers of excellence, comprised of 3 passionate wine guys who were all in attendance, this ringer stood out in that it had some unusual character that sent most of us to ID whether it was a flaw and if so, what? We never landed on an answer. The wine had concentrated depth and layers of light oak enhanced fruit that was pleasing along with the good mouthfeel; whatever the strange compounds were, they were evident throughout the time in the glass; I`ve had many, many stellar wines from this group and in this instance, I voted this bottle #4 in the flight.
2010 GASTON & PIERRE RIVAUT ALOXE-CORTON 1ER CRU- the nose was of fresh floral and spicy dark fruit; it had bright acidity and decent structure, by mid palate a touch of talc and sandalwood graced the now ripe fruitiness; toward the back of the palate, it faded just a little; my tied for #3.
1999 DOMAINE TOLLOT-BEAUT CLOS du ROI BEAUNE 1ER CRU- this was very rich and full bodied with layers of dark fruit, especially blackberry and black currant; I got it as an exuberant young and spry wine and lo and behold it`s got a few years on it; the structure is such, it can go many years before maturity; my #1.
3rd flight of 5:
2009 BOUCHARD POMMARD 1ER CRU- the nose immediately made a statement of good things to come and the wine delivered with loads of black fruit that was accompanied by some mocha, coffee and chocolate; early on, it was apparent the wine needed time to get it together and integrate and during the time it had in the glass, it did not quite reach that place; decanting would have helped; I voted it as my #3 in this flight.
2005 LOUIS JADOT BOUCHEROTTES BEAUNE 1ER CRU- a lot of coffee in the aromatics followed by spicy dark fruit which by toward the finish moved into a wild, tart fruit profile; it finish a bit on the hot side; after returning for a 2nd taste later on, the wine evened out and became much more balanced with some of the heat dissipating; my #2 in the flight.
2010 DOMAINE MONTHELIE-DOUHAIRET PORCHERET CLOS du MEIX GARNIER MONOPOLE- very strange aromatics at first then blows off into something at least acceptable; the overall profile was everything being sort of middle of the road as that relates to the body and weight, fruit expression and finish which became more astringent; my #5 here.
2010 DOMAINE JEAN-MARK PAVELOT AUX GRAVAINS SAVIGNY les BEAUNE 1ER CRU- good out of the gate, this shined brightly with nice fruity aromatics with especially black raspberry showing through; this was joined by a big dollop of spicy black cherry by mid palate; the texture was soft and silky and along with nice balance, the wine had decent length; my #1 in this flight.
2010 FAIVELEY MERCUREY CLOS des MYGLANDS MONOPOLE 1ER CRU- red and black fruit jump out initially with black cherry most noticeable; it had a bit of milkiness that I sometimes get in a local CA Pinot Noir which is not to my liking as it melds into the fruit and changes the preferred flavors; it finished with some of that lactic taste leaving that as the final impression; I voted this as #4 in the flight.
Although we did not select a wine for the overall winner, my vote probably would have gone to the 2006 Jadot Corton Pougets.
Our gracious host, his wonderful ocean/ mountain view home, the wines and the fellowship all contributed to another great night.
Cheers,
Blake
