As many of you already know, each year in February and March I host a series of white burgundy vintage appraisal and oxidation check dinners in Los Angeles. We taste the vintage which is then 7.5 years from the date of harvest, and we usually taste 60 to 75 of the top wines from the vintage over the course of three nights. This was our twelfth consecutive year of holding these dinners and this year the vintage was 2009. For the 2009 vintage, we held only two dinners – with a total of 62 wines tasted – on March 1 and March 15.
On Wednesday March 15, fourteen of us gathered in the Gold Room at Valentino to taste thirty-one wines consisting twenty-seven grand crus from the various Montrachet appellations and four California and French ringers. Once again, we needed 434 stems for the burgundies. Valentino’s wine director, Paul Sherman, handled it splendidly as usual, but this time had the services of Assistant Sommelier Peter Nelson as well. The wine service was absolutely superb as usual.
Valentino, which is owned by Pierro Selvaggio, has been one of Los Angeles’ premier Italian restaurants for several decades. It is well known for its Wine Spectator Grand Award winning wine cellar as well as its Italian regional and Sicilian cuisine. The dinner arrangements were well planned by Giuseppe Mollica, Valentino’s director of special events, and the service was top notch as always.
The wines and food courses are set forth below. All of the wines were served blind and none of the attendees knew the identity of our one ringer for night one. All of the voting was completely blind with the attendees ranking their top five wines identified by the number on the glass.
A battalion of stems aligned before the dinner
Champagne & Appetizers
Smoked Salmon Rolls, Frico, Grilled Flat Bed Pizza, Eggplant Cotoletta, Bruschetta With Mushrooms
2002 Dom Perignon (2 x 750 ml)
Bright gold color; bright citrus and fresh peach aromas; really bright, mineral and citrus flavors and a very long finish. Superb. 95
Flight One – Criots & Bienvenues Batard Montrachet
Crudo Di Tonno & Wild Salmon
#1 [2009 Pernot Puligny Pucelles – Ringer]
Light to medium gold; not much in the aroma department- some light floral scents after searching for them; a rich wine, but not all that complex or interesting, modest minerality on the finish. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0) 91
#2 [2009 Carillon Bienvenues Batard Montrachet]
Relatively light gold color; light white flowers with hints of honeysuckle; a soft, very easy to drink wine with some pears and light citrus. One vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 17th, 1 point (0/0/0/0/1) 93
#3 [2009 Colin-Morey Bienvenues Batard Montrachet]
Light to medium gold color; very minimal aromas – very faint floral-green apple; some pear and green apple flavors and some minerality on the finish.
Five votes for best in flight. Group Rank: 15th, 4 points 0/0/1/0/1) 92
#4 [2009 Faiveley Bienvenues Batard Montrachet]
Medium gold color; some SO2/reductive aromas – left to sit; later green apple and citrus; bright, well structured, citrusy fruit and some minerality on the finish. Seven votes for best in flight. Group Rank: 7th , 10 points (0/0/1/2/4) 94
#5 [2009 Pernot Bienvenues Batard Montrachet]
Light yellow gold color; a slightly odd earthy aromas with some faint green apple behind it; some light pear flavors with some minerals in the background. Group Rank: Tied for 17th, 1 point (0/0/0/0/1) 91
#6 [2009 Roger Belland Criots Batard Montrachet DIAM]
Relatively light gold color; lightly floral aromas; light lemon-lime fruit and a lightly minerally, slightly lacy finish. I wasn’t quite as impressed on the second pass. One vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0) 91
#7 [2009 Henri Boillot Criots Batard Montrachet]
Full gold color; heavy butterscotch aroams; very viscous, over the top butterscotch flavors. If you like butterscotch, you might enjoy this. Obviously very advanced and soon to be oxidized. The group unanimously thought this wine was advanced. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0) 87 - Advanced
#8 [2009 Bouard-Bonnefoy Chas. Montrachet En Remilly –Ringer]
[NB This was supposed to be included in the Chevalier Montrachet flight but was included here by error instead of the Rochioli Sweetwater Vin.] Deep gold color; rich green apple and floral aromas; some sappy green apple, but rich almost caramel apple finish. Five tasters thought this was advanced. I couldn’t quite make up my mind. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0) 88
Flight Two – Batard Montrachet
Jumbo Shrimp With Cannellini Beans
#9 [2009 Ramonet Batard Montrachet]
Almost medium gold color; grilled nuts and pear aromas; round, stone fruit and grilled nuts, different in style than the others and finished a bit short. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0) 92
#10 [2009 Leflaive Batard Montrachet]
Medium plus gold color; hints of sherry in the aromas; strong, browned red apple flavors – oxidized. Unanimous agreement that this one is oxidized. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0) DQ-Oxidized
#11 [2009 Marc Morey Batard Montrachet]
Fairly light gold color; both earthy notes and white flowers in the aromas; bright, lemony wine with great acidity; a long minerally finish which had expanded by the end of the night Five votes for best of flight. Group Rank: 5th , 18 points (1/2/1/1/0) 93+
#12 [2009 Pernot Batard Montrachet]
Almost medium gold color; lightly yeasty with some white flowers aromas; medium-full bodied wine which is quite rich with some modest underlying acidity. Seems a little top heavy. One vote for best in flight. Group Rank: 16th, 2 points (0/0/0/1/0) 92
#13 [2009 Ramey Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay – Ringer]
Medium-plus gold; light butterscotch aromas that an hour later were more like mint; a rich butterscotch tinged wine, nice right now but going nowhere; barely enough acidity; a nice wine for right now provided you like butterscotch. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0) 90
#14 [2009 H. Boillot Batard Montrachet]
Medium gold color; perfumed floral aromas; intense pear/green apple flavors – grabs your attention; good density and minerality and very nice length on the finish. Seven votes for best in flight. Group Rank: 6th , 17 points (0/0/1/3/1) 93
#15 [2009 Fabien Coche Batard Montrachet]
Between light and medium gold color; light spearmint aromas like Ramonet; lemon-lime flavors, very bright and tightly compacted; a very long citrus and minerals finish. One vote for best in flight (mine). Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0) 94 [NB I seemed to like this wine more than the others. Another bottle opened about 10 days previously was the best 2009 I’ve opened to date – rated 96. Two more opened since this dinner I similarly rated at 94 points]
#16 [2009 Niellon Batard Montrachet]
Full gold color; some butterscotch and browned red apple aromas; some very rich apple flavor but there is also sharp, somewhat unstable acidity like end-acidity. Either this is literally cracking up or someone did a poor job of trying to acidify this wine… By consensus this wine was advanced. Group Rank: Tied for 17th, 1 point (0/0/0/0/1) 87 - Advanced
Flight Three – Montrachet
Risotto With Lobster And Mixed Seafood - the “must have” entre for every Vintage Assessment dinner
# 17 [2009 Drouhin M. De La Guiche Montrachet]
Almost full gold color; aromas of light butterscotch and pear; very rich pear pastry flavors with some light citrus undertones; this has an unbelievably good finish – incredibly long and some minerals too. One vote for best in flight. My fifth rated wine of the night. Group Rank: 11th, 6 points (0/0/1/1/1) 95
#18 [2009 Bouchard Montrachet DIAM]
Light gold color; aromas of white flowers and pears – became fairly perfumed; nice pear and citrus flavors with very good acidity; a very long mostly minerals finish with some acidity showing in the finish. Still some upside here. Two votes for best in flight. My No. 6 wine of the night. Group Rank: 2nd 32 points (4/2/0/1/2) 94+
#19 [2009 Henri Boillot Montrachet]
Light gold color; lightly floral and citrus aromas; brilliant citrus and green apple wine with a long finish. Excellent wine, it just suffers a little in comparison with the rest of the flight. Group Rank: 8th , 10 points (0/2/0/1/0) 94
#20 [2009 Ch. De Puligny Montrachet Le Montrachet DIAM]
Light gold color; aromas of sweet white flowers and pears; a rich pear pastry mid-palate with really awesome length and amazingly long minerality. Definitely a WOW wine. Two votes for best in flight. My number two wine of the night. Group Rank: 9th, 8 points (0/2/0/0/0). 95
#21 [2009 Remoissonet Montrachet]
Between light and medium gold; super floral aromas – white peonies; very nice flavors – citrus and pear and real lattice work structured minerality; excellent acidity and a very bright and long minerals and fruit finish. Eight votes for best in flight. The wine of the night for me (and the group). Group Rank: 1st, 52 points (7/4/0/0/1) 95+
#22 [2009 Ramonet Montrachet]
Medium gold color; rich green apple and floral aromas; bright, green apple flavors but quite fulsome and less complex than the other wines in this flight; seems quite powerful and almost massive on the finish. Group Rank: Tied for 12th, 5 points (0/0/1/1/0). 94
Flight Four – Chevalier Montrachet
Veal Loin With Wild Mushroom Sauce
#22 [2009 Girardin Chevalier Montrachet]
Medium gold color; white flowers and some more developed notes in the aromas; very bright citrusy flavors. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0). 93
#23 [2009 Rochioli Sweetwater Vineyard Chardonnay – Ringer]
Medium gold color; slightly funky, slightly oaky and earthy aromas which cleaned up some with time in the glass; nice pear/citrus flavors but this had a fairly phenolic, almost bitter finish. Maybe a slightly off bottle? One vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 12th, 5 points, (0/0/1/1/0) 92-93? [N.B. This bottle was supposed to be in the Bienvenues/Criots flight and the Chassagne En Remilly, which borders Chevalier Montrachet, was supposed to be in this flight.]
#24 [2009 Jadot Chevalier Demoiselles]
Medium plus gold color that just kept getting darker; sherry and almost caustic aromas; impossible to drink this. Unanimous agreement this was oxidized. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0). DQ - oxidized
#25 [2009 Ch. De Puligny Montrachet Chevalier Montrachet DIAM]
Light gold color; light white flowers and citrus aromas; medium-bodied citrus and minerals flavors; nice acidity and a decent citrus and minerals finish. One vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0). 94
#26 [2009 Dancer Chevalier Montrachet]
Light gold color; some petrol, chemical and citrus aromas that were a bit odd; tight bright citrus but also some bitter chemical elements. The group consensus was that this wine was chemically “off” but we couldn’t agree on exactly what the problem was. But two tasters ranked this wine in their top five (unless they listed the number by mistake). Group Rank: 10th, 7 points (1/0/0/1/0). DQ – Chemically Off
#27 [2009 Bouchard Chevalier Montrachet DIAM]
Light white gold color; beautiful white flowers aromas; intense and beautiful pear and citrus elements on the palate with an incredibly long minerally finish. A gorgeous 2009 Chevy. Seven votes for best of flight. My number three wine of the night. Group Rank: Tied for 3rd, 28 points (0/2/5/2/1) 95
#28 [2009 Colin-Morey Chevalier Montrachet]
Medium gold color; fairly ripe lime and pear aromas; but on the palate this has fresh apricot fruit and tastes somewhat advanced. Everyone agrees that this wine is advanced. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0). 91 - advanced
#30 [2009 Ramonet Chevalier Montrachet]
Light gold color; white flowers and citrus aromas; lemon-lime citrus and intensely minerally wine; very long minerally finish. This wine was even better on the second pass. Three votes for best of flight. My number four wine of the night. Group Rank: Tied for 3rd, 28 points (2/1/3/1/3) 95
#31 [2009 Marc Morey Chevalier Montrachet]
Light yellow color; light lime citrus aromas; very elegant pear and citrus flavors which was quite long on the mid-palate and had long finish as well. Very nice wine. Three votes for best of flight. Group Rank: Tied for 12th, 5 points (1/0/0/0/0) 94
Dessert-
Trio Of: Cannoli, Caramelized Fruit Tart And Gelato
2010 Donhoff Oberhauser Brucke Eiswein Goldkapsel
Bright gold color; amazing botrytis and peach aromas; incredibly deep and unctuous reisling flavors with great acidity and an incredibly long sweet finish. Wow. I’m not a huge dessert wine fan, but I love the Donnhoff Eisweins. 96
1976 Von Keselstat Josephofer Berenauslese
Orangey-gold color; aromas of burnt sugar and apricot; I don’t really care for the burnt sugar/scorched flavors in most 1976s. NR
Premox statistics:
Night Two:
Corked 0 of 31 (0%)
Oxidized: 2 of 31 (6.5%)
Advanced: 3 of 31 (9.7%)
Either advanced or oxidized 5 of 31 (16.1%)
DIAM bottles (5) – none were advanced or oxidized
Combined Statistics for Night One and Night Two:
Corked 0 of 62 (0%)
Otherwise Chemically “Off” 1 of 62 (1.6%)
Oxidized: 2 of 62 (3.2%)
Advanced: 6 of 62 (9.7%)
Either advanced or oxidized 8 of 62 (12.9%)
Either advanced or oxidized (excluding DIAM bottles) 8/53 (15.09%) [CORRECTED]
The 12.9% total incidence is relatively close to the record low incidence of 12.68% for the 2007 vintage and 12.70% for the 2004 vintage, but if you consider only the bottles with conventional cork closings, the percentage rises to 15%.
Cumulative Cheers and Jeers
Cheers go to:
- • Remoissenet - A fabulous Montrachet and the overwhelming winner of the evening. The best Remoissenet wine I’ve ever tasted by far. Congratulations to owner Ed Milstein and regisseur Pierre Rovani on a job well done.
• Bouchard – Two beautiful wines finished as the group’s No. 2 and No 3 ranked wines. Both wines had DIAM closures.
• Chateau de Puligny Montrachet – Operated by the Domaine de Montille, this producer had fallen out of the limelight due to premox problems. A lot of progress has been made here and this Domaine (along with De Montille) is now bottling all of its wines with DIAM closures. The Montrachet, which I had ranked as my number two wine of the night (95 points), was the group’s ninth-ranked wine and the Chevalier Montrachet I rated at 94 points.
• Marc Morey – Both the Batard and Chevalier Montrachets finished in the top twelve.
• Montrachet – The clear vineyard “winner” on night two was Montrachet, where there were zero premox issues and every Montrachet was excellent and got at least two “Top Five” votes.
• DIAM closures – We had nine bottles with DIAM closures over two nights. None of these wines were advanced or oxidized and there were no comments or complaints about off or unusual aromas or flavors on these wines.
Jeers go to:
- • Most of the usual premox suspects – Jadot, Leflaive, Henri Boillot and Niellon all had advanced or oxidized wines. But this time they were joined by an unusual visitor to this list – the Colin-Morey Chevalier.
Some general comments –
Once again, the second installment of the 2009 dinners proved that there were some exceptionally good wines made in 2009, despite the initial skepticism about the vintage. This dinner also again demonstrated that the some vineyards were much more successful than others in 2009. The clear vineyard “winner” on night two was Montrachet, where there were zero premox issues and every bottle was excellent. In Bienvenues and Criots, the wines were generally lighter and more dilute. Once you excluded the three Chevaliers with obvious defects, the remaining wines were excellent, though not quite as excellent overall as the Montrachets. The Batards were generally nice wines, but they clearly weren’t as impressive as the Montrachets and Chevaliers. Continuing the theme from night one, being upslope (MP, Corton Charlemagne, Montrachet and Chevalier) seems to have made a huge difference in 2009.
Thanks to my friend David Wainwright for providing the photos!