2000 Moccagatta Barbaresco Basarin:
Wow. A nice and inexpensive auction purchase. This is transitioning out of its primary stage and has a singing nose of red berry with a bit of forest and truffle. Some tar is evident on the palate but less so on the nose. Tannins are forceful initially on the back palate but begin to recede with air. A lovely wine that will likely develop a bit more finesse as the tannins fade with age.
2012 Weingut Josef Walter Spatburgunder Trocken “J” Hundsruck
Spice and red tea nose. A bit of dried citrus peel and menthol. Cranberry fruited. Starts out light but eventually begins to round out with air. This is distinctly Spatburgunder in the way it seems to flirt with both ripeness and depth but doesn’t quite seem to get there and remains complex and interesting despite.
1996 Bertrand Ambroise Corton Rognets
My second bottle. Consistent. This is deep, rich, full-throated and ripe. Not your mama’s pretty and lithe Chambolle. Beautiful ripe red fruit nose with a subtle perfume of baking spice, long on both the mid palate and finish. Smooth but tannins definitely still present. When i read that, it almost sounds like a New World Pinot but it certainly is not. Clearly identifiable as Burgundy and has a nose that can only come from there, with bits of savory to balance the fruit. Drinks younger than it’s 20+ years.