LES AMOUREUSES DINNER - Imperial Treasure Teochew, Ion (5/8/2019)
We revisited the Les Amoureuses theme again with ML hosting - one of his favourite vineyards of course. After doing this theme a few times, we were running a tad dry on Les Amoureuses, so some stand-ins from Vosne Malconsorts and a Clos St Denis were allowed in!
The standout for me was a fabulous trio of Groffier Les Amoureuses from the early 2000s. All 3 were fantastic, but the 2001 in particular was absolutely singing.
BUBBLES TO START
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2002 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
This was absolutely delicious. The nose was starting to show little signs of maturity, with complex little aromas of earth, kumquats and ripe yellow fruit, all laced with a little bit of an oxidative edge. The palate had a sinewy, muscular feel to it, with a textural, almost grippy mouthful of thick yellow fruit, again with the slightly still speared through with bright acidity and a vigorous mousse - all this leading into a spicy, slightly floral finish. A robust Champagne, not rustic, but certainly not one in a delicate, filigreed style. Nice. (92 pts.) -
2000 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
An interesting compare and contrast with the 2000. It had a similarly arresting nose, full of big yellow fruited aromas edged with a slightly oxidative character, and little bits of spice, earth and dried flowers. The palate had the same strength as the Vilmart, but perhaps with a touch more rounded, showing ripe, rich flavours of yellow fruit, and a bit of spice, all playing against a nice minerally backdrop into a long, strong finish. Nicely developed given the vintage, and drinking very nicely now. Excellent. (92 pts.)
THE LONE WHITE
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2001 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
A worrying golden yellow colour, but barely a hint of oxidation thankfully. The nose was lovely, with lots of ripe, almost tropical aromas - dried pineapple, apricot, jackfruit maybe, with a bit of Corton white chocolate and some mature butterscotch in there. The palate had a really nice shape to it too, a lot more defined and precise than I would have expected after the nose, with fine acidity and minerality threaded through rich, slightly oily flavours of ripe yellow fruit edged with a bit of dried tropical fruit. It was that acid and mineral that gave the wine a really great sense of shape and focus, all the way into a wonderfully open, bright finish that had a little hint of earthiness to it. A lovely wine, drinking quite at peak now. (93 pts.)
2001 PAIR
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2001 Louis Jadot Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
There was some charm to this, but it was nowhere near as alluring as one would expect from an Amoureuses from 2001. The nose still had a shade of oak to it, with notes of earth, spice and dark cherries, and a toss of dried flowers. Really quite pleasant. The palate was where the wine felt a bit uninteresting - tight tannins and bright acidity were wrapped around rather quiet flavours of dark cherries and earth. These where lined on the midpalate with just a hint of violet flowers around the sides. The finish had a nice open, juicy feel to it, as it trailed away on a bed of minerality. Good shape and definition, nice transparency, but just a little dumb when first poured. A decently good wine, but just lacking a bit of deliciousness. (91 pts.) -
2001 Bernard Serveau Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
I liked this. The nose had a lovely fragrance to it, with sweet ripe cherries and wild berries seasoned with woody spice and toasty earth, all garlanded with a ring of dried rose petals. The palate had a nice fresh, open feel to it, with juicy acidity and the finest of tannins framing deliciously fresh, open flavours of red cherries and berries. This lacked some of the transparency and lightness of the 2001 Jadot Amoureuses we had alongside - it felt a bit thicker and less refined - but it was certainly more attractive and delicious, with a lovely plump roundness to its fruit, wed to a greater sense of complexity and interest, especially past the midpalate and into a finish laced with earth, spice and florals. Very nice, and drinking beautifully now. (92 pts.)
TRIO FROM GROFFIER
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2001 Domaine Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Fourth time out with a bottle of this wine, and it was bang back on form. Absolutely beautiful. The nose was a melting melange of earth, perfumy florals and sweet red fruits, ringed with a little halo of spice - so alluring. The palate was soft and melting, with silky tannins and soft but fresh acidity coating wonderfully clear, transparent flavours of dark cherries, all gently infused with a bit of spice and earth and florals. Mouthfilling perfume I wrote. A soft, alluring, perfectly poised wine, full of transparency and liveliness. Strong, yet weightless. A beautiful Chambolle, drinking quite at peak - the best of a strong trio of Groffier Amoureuse, and by some distance the wine of the night amidst a very strong field. I was in love with this one. (95 pts.) -
2003 Domaine Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Wow, this has a lovely nose, with a bright burst of florals, red cherries and a little spice - sweet, lovely and alluring. The palate had a bit of the girth of the vintage, with thick rich flavours of ripe red cherries and berries, but it also felt really balanced and well-poised, with just enough acidity and softening but still present tannins lending a velvety sense of structure to the proceedings. Nice touch of complexity too, with bits of spice and earth tracing their way into a lovely finish. Delicious stuff, with a bit of the sweetness of the vintage obvious, but none of the heat or hardness. A super 2003. (93 pts.) -
1996 Domaine Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Beautiful. Better now than even the very nice bottle I had a few years back. This had such a delicate nose, full of lacy aromatics - red cherries and darker blue berries, cool violet flowers, with just a hint of dusty earth and lifted spice in there. A clean, cool, very Chambolle nose - this was beautiful. The perfumed palate was lovely too, with lifted 1996 acidity and the finest silky tannins running through delicious flavours of dark cherries, spice and a little touch of earth. Silky and seductive, and really, really good - this has everything in a perfect place. Beautiful lacy finish too, with a little
of spice and more florals trailing away into the distance. Absolutely delicious, and drinking perfectly now. (94 pts.)
MALCONSORTS PAIR
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2002 Nicolas Potel Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Very good indeed. This had been sitting in my cellar for a long time, and all the notes on bottle variation got me very worried. Thankfully, this was a really nice example. It had a great nose, full of toasty woody Vosne spices drifting around a core of black cherries and plums, with a toss of savoury meat and earth aromas in there too. The palate had a real muscular strength to it, with a sinewy stream of black cherry fruit lined with firm but fine tannins and bright, juicy acidity. This probably needs a bit of time yet, given how much youthful strength and vigour it had. The finish coated the mouth with a of bright acidity and chewy tannins framing a spicy, chewy back-palate. A chiseled, sinewy wine. Very good, lots of strength, maybe lacking some of the lazy finesse of the Amoureuses that came before, but very solid, with a wonderful depth and breadth to it. Great stuff. (93 pts.)
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2001 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Lovely stuff. Quite a bit better than the last bottle I had. I thought it had a fuller nose than the Potel 2002 Malconsorts on the same flight, with a kaleidoscope of Vosne aromas - spice and earth, black cherries and violets, and a nice touch of bloody iron mineral. The palate was rich and full, very Cathiard, with ripe flavours of blueberries, black cherries and plums, almost a hint of liquer on it, along with lovely drifts of Vosne spice carrying the wine into a really long finish seasoned with toasty spice. This lacked a bit of the precision of the Potel, coming across a bit young and brash, but otherwise wonderful tasting stuff. (93 pts.)
ONE OF THE ROAD
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2001 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
A great wine to crown the night. I lost my detailed notes on this unfortunately, so just a brief impression The nose was wonderful, with wafts of blueberry fruit, earth and toasty Morey spice leading into a full, very polished, very whole palate, with velvety tannins and deeply integrated acidity wrapped around a core of pure blueberry fruit, spice and a hint of earth tones. A deep, inexorable wine, yet all elegantly focused and impeccable balanced. Solid. Still needs time though! (94 pts.)
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