Here is my short cut guide to the 2019 La Paulee Grand Tasting:
Knowing it would be impossible to hit everything, I had a plan and executed it, with Greg Kahn as my unexpected partner for most it and Sh@n A (who I met just before the doors opened) for many of the reds. Most producers tables had 4 wines. I tasted 99 wines in just over 3 hours but was still able to have nice chats with the winemakers or other domaine reps.
Given each of the wines I liked deserved its own meal and patience, not this quick fire tasting, I’m just going to provide a hit list of the highlights in the order tasted, 2016 unless noted, with one, two, or three stars for the best wines in my view. I did not list wines that didn’t do much for me.
I had tasted a few 2016s but was glad to get this snapshot of the vintage. Overall I thought 2016 was a fairly transparent early drinking vintage for whites with a hint of sweetness and sweet perfume but the best showing strong mineral notes and spice with deceptive structure, maybe like a more concentrated 2000. If premox doesn’t rear its head, these will age well, shedding baby fat along the way. Many of the reds are drinking pretty well, not as transparently pure as 2014 or as sized and dense as 2015 but the best will shine with time and many are even drinking well now (but I’d expect them to shut down).
If pushed, for this sampling of producers and wines, I was more impressed with the whites than the reds overall. Whereas there were strong whites at all levels, for the reds the Premier and Grand Crus were a clear step up.
Liger-Belair:
*Vosne Romanee Aux Reignots
**Echezeaux
Mugneret-Gibourg:
*Vosne Romanee
**Ruchottes
**()Clos Vougeot
Henri Gouges:
*Clos des Porrets
Pruliers
()Vaucrains
**()Les Saint Georges
Hudelot-Noellat:
(*)Clos Vougeot
()Romanee-Saint-Vivant
Y. Clerget:
**Volnay Caillerets
Clos Vougeot
(Note it was tough to try Hudelot-Noellat and Clerget Clos Vougeot after Mugneret-Gibourg.)
Leflaive:
Puligny Montrachet
(*)Puligny Montrachet Claivoillon
()Puligny Montrachet Pucelles
Antoine and Charlotte Jobard:
*Meursault Poruzots
**Meursault Genevrieres
**()Meursault Charmes
Vincent Girardin:
Meursault Genevrieres
Meursault Charmes
*Meursault Perrieres
Bernard Moreau:
Saint-Aubin En Remilly
*Chassagne Montrachet (a lot of 1er Cru in 2016, wines that couldn’t be made on their own, due to frost and thus extremely low yields)
*Chassagne Maltroie
Heitz-Lochardet:
Meursault Perrieres
*Pommard Rugiens
Bachelet-Monnot:
Puligny Montrachet Referts
Puligny Montrachet Folatieres
Marc Morey:
Chassagne Montrachet
()Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot
**(*)Chassagne Montrachet En Virondot
***Puligny Montrachet Pucelles
Blind Tasting with Pascaline Lepeltier:
*2015 Dauvissat Chablis Sechets (very yellow color; guessed Chassagne Premier Cru from a more linear, mineral site)
**2015 Meursault Charmes (I will get the producer - blanking right now; guessed Corton Charlemagne or BBM - had Grand Cru weight)
*2015 Bize Savigny-Les-Beaune Serpentieres (guessed 2015 Côte de Beaune)
*2005 Cathiard Vosne (guessed Chambolle or Morey Premier Cru with a bit of age)
H. Lignier:
*Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Vielle Vignes
*Morey-Saint-Denis Chaffots
***Clos de la Roche
Benjamin Leroux:
Meursault Genevrieres Dessous
**Mazoyeres-Chambertin
Commune de Meursault Table - we had the great luck to try the 17 wines at this table side-by-side with Dominique Lafon for about 20 minutes, during which he showed me where various parcels of the wines we were trying were located on his Burgundy map app:
Henri Germain Meursault
Fichet Meursault Tesson
**Pierre Morey Meursault Tessons
Darnat Meursault Richemont
Mikulski Meursault Poruzots
**Genot-Boulanger Meursault Boucheres
Michel Bouzereau Meursault Charmes
Xavier Monnot Meursault Charmes
**()Latour-Giraud Meursault Genevrieres
**(*)Remi Jobard Meursault Genevrieres
Drouhin:
**(*)Beaune Clos des Mouches (Blanc)
*Chassagne Morgeot Marquis de Laguiche
Beaune Clos des Mouches (Rouge)
**()Chambertin Clos de Beze
Comtes Lafon:
Meursault Charmes
Dominique Lafon:
Beaune Vignes Franches
Henri Boillot:
Meursault Genevrieres
(I wasn’t impressed by the Puligny Clos de la Mouchere, Corton Charlemagne, or Volnay Caillerets - Clerget’s Caillerets was more charming and had better depth and structure)
William Fevre:
()Chablis Bougros Bouguerots
(*)Chablis Clos
Christian Moreau:
*2012 Clos “Clos des Hospices”
()2014 Clos “Clos des Hospices
Lamy-Pillot:
Chassagne “Pot Bois”
*Chassagne Morgeot
Chassagne Boudriotte (Rouge)
I missed the following from my plan because the Blind Tasting was unexpected and took about 20 minutes:
Bouchard Corton Charlemagne
Nicolas Rossignol’s table