Had my first Juge(15)…and that could mean only one thing…Fu was in town!!
Lived up to the hype…I quickly got on the phone to order a case…
All the wines were top shelf, except the corked 97 Verset(mine )…will post some notes later today.
2001 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
LOVE this wine! Huge, well endowed, with ripe apple sautéed in butter, orchard fruit, little tropical, smoked vanilla bean spice…yet intense laser beam lemon citrus freshness, and plenty of saline chalky minerals to liven. Perfectly integrated, everything in place, with the aged nuances to the fresh florals…great length and pleasure! Always worth a couple points more when a white burg ages like it should! (96 pts.)
2010 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore- France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
The 11(my first) blew me away with that minerality; then the 09 was a hot alcoholic mess. Now this 10 gets me back to that Vatan magic! Intense citrus with the limes and lemons, the exotic tropical fruits…LOADED with insane chalky, salty, crushed rock, smoky geology…clean petrol, pretty blossom florals…purely balanced and precise. So much energy and tension, yet it manages to drink in super balance and focus. SO unique and interesting…a true joy to drink. (95 pts.)
2005 Arnaud Ente Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Interesting as this was tight and lighter than expected…very clean and chiseled, bright and more youthful than its age. Intense citrus with some nice mineral chalk, flint, stone fruits, chive…reminded me of a watered down pycm puligny. Though, as it warmed in the glass, it did gain in weight and richness…pretty florals and a nice elegance. Intrigued to see what the leftovers will bring…but not what I expected at this price point. (92 pts.)
2015 Benoit Courault Les Guinechiens- France, Vin de France
Refreshingly pure with intense citrus and a tropical flare…very floral, some cold apple cider, rain water, sea breeze minerality…very appealing chenin blanc wool and softness. Outstanding Summer sipper here! (93 pts.)
Red
2015 Marcel Juge Cornas- France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Needed some serious air as it was pretty tight for an hour or so…then a huge kaleidoscope explosion of crushed wild berries, so pure…enveloped with minerals, earth, and florals! SO smooth and silky, palate coating, yet bursting with freshness…full of life. The air brought out more nuances of white pepper, dried tobacco leaves, pretty violets and cherry blossom florals. Like a dirt coated farmers hands…crushing a bunch of wild berries into the glass…a WOW wine for sure! (95 pts.)
2010 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée Clos du Château- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
A pretty wine here…so polished with subtlety at first, kept gaining and gaining through the night…wonderful crunchy youthful red fruits, sweet floral spices, mineral firmness…subtleties of smoke and earth, raspberry puree…and that spice…Mmmm! (95 pts.)
1996 Noël Verset Cornas- France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Tight with only some olive showing at first…but this wine took a huge jump after and hour or so, and continued open through the eve. Sauvage, leather, and olives meld well with the rustic red berry fruit…some dried, some tarted up…complexed with herbs, leather, a little smoke and musk. The earthy perfume was intoxicating…drank rather elegant. Super bottle! Not like the 97 next to it that was corked. (93 pts.)
The Ente has been the best of the leftovers tonight…honeyed up and started acting its age. Completely different than last night? If you drink this wine, I’d decant it for 4-5 hrs…and drink it at cellar temp!
With the possible exception of Monsieur Audouze, BB drinks better than anybody else on this board.
Vatan, Laguiche and A Ente as palate cleansers for Juge?
Sheesh.
I don’t even know whether even Jeremy Holmes drinks as well as BB.
And only Roy Piper matches the aesthetics.
PS: Although Brad England did post some ridiculous tasting notes recently which sounded more like a Fake News fantasy than a meal where actual wine was swallowed.
is it not ironic that buzz is faulting a wine for tasting too young
sounds pretty exceptional for an 05 which has the highest incidence of premox according to don’s annual tasting. however it is not surprising considering the producer and mirrors my experience…05 seve du clos was incredible last year with seemingly more potential for aging.