BURGS, RHONES, PIEDMONT, AND KRUG - (12/1/2018)
The theme for Saturday’s tasting was shotgun (aka bring whatever you’d like) and we had a decent assortment of wines.
White Burgundy
A mixed bag of white Burgundies. The Ramonet was only lightly oxidized and even showed the trademark peppermint until TCA became apparent. I just can’t win with 1996 white Burgundies.
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1996 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Boudriotte - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Corked. NR (flawed) -
1996 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Oxidized. NR (flawed) -
2015 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Delicate but with concentration and a lovely sweet/tart finish accented by just a hint of peppermint. (92 pts.)
Red Burgundies and Pinot Noirs
I’m including the New World Pinot Noirs with the red Burgundies, as I think these two will appeal to a lot of Burgundy fans. They more than held their own in this group.
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1999 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Vougeot 1er Cru Les Petits Vougeots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vougeot 1er Cru
Bright cherry with a touch of leather, still showing good acidic and tannic structure, it punches above its weight. (91 pts.) -
2006 Nicolas Potel Beaune 1er Cru Teurons - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru
Cherry with a touch of menthol, drinking well. (89 pts.) -
2005 Jean-Claude Boisset Clos de la Roche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Painfully reduced, it showed little other than a not-unpleasant sauerkraut aroma even after it had been open for a few hours. NR (flawed) -
2011 Adelsheim Pinot Noir Bryan Creek Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains
Tart black cherry with a pepper and little fresh green bean (think fresh picked haricot verts) which turns into evergreen bough with air. Lovely. (92 pts.) -
2012 Lioco Pinot Noir Klindt Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Blackberry and plummy dark fruit with a touch of spice, nimble but concentrated with lively acidity, an excellent and elegant example of “deep end” Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. (92 pts.) -
2009 Marchand & Tawse / Pascal Marchand Clos St. Denis - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
Beautiful spicy tart cherry, with a bit of black pepper, great depth and freshness, it brilliantly combines power and grace. (94 pts.) -
2012 Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
On the tart side, but with a lot of concentration, not immediately impressive but it kept growing on me and I may be under rating it. (89 pts.) -
2015 Domaine Anne Gros Echezeaux Les Loachausses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
I don’t care for the combination of very ripe sweet dark cherry fruit with a touch of spice and astringent tannin, it needs time and won’t surprise me if it improves dramatically with age. (89 pts.)
Rhones
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1985 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Cuvée Syrah - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
A brilliant aged Syrah more reminiscent of Cote Rotie than anything else. It keeps getting more youthful and complex with air. Fantastic. (94 pts.) -
2001 Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Showing much younger than expected, leather and ripe fruit, drinking very well, it still has at least several years of life left. (90 pts.) -
2008 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Loaded with white pepper, a little more exotic than a recent 2008 La Landonne, pretty classic and outstanding. (94 pts.)
Piedmont
A pretty nice selection showing the diversity of styles that Nebbiolo can exhibit.
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2007 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Intense and pure, with oak softening and rounding it off without being obtrusive. (94 pts.) -
2000 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Beguiling with seamless elegance and complexity. (94 pts.) -
2004 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata Torriglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Ripe and modern, but with personality and verve, it shows great purity of fruit and intensity with ample but perfectly integrated tannin. (93 pts.) -
2004 Domenico Clerico Barolo Pajana - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Flowers and anise spice with a hint of brown sugar accent the ample dark fruit, but with a lot of tannic structure that is on the grainy side, it is fine now with food, but will be better with time. (92 pts.) -
2003 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Not bad, but riper than I’d like bordering on overripe and lacking depth and persistence. (89 pts.)
The Others
Any day that includes vintage Krug is a good day.
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2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
Lemony and mineral on the nose with a touch of yeast, it has picked up a hint of nutty richness on the palate while still showing great freshness. Splendid. (93 pts.) -
2010 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
Dark fruit with a touch of pyrazine complexity, still a baby but quite nice. (91 pts.)