Zoom Tasting TNs -- Quality Red Burgs

Our Covid/Zoom group held a superb Burg tasting Friday night. I didn’t take detailed notes as I hadn’t planned on writing up the event, so these are from (somewhat fuzzy) memory.

We tasted our six samples blind, but we knew who provided the bottle. It’s fun to separate your impressions of what’s sitting in the glass from your psychologist/detective instincts about that person’s track record and personal tastes. Truth be told, I think I’m better at the latter than the former!

We took our time going through the wines, which we arranged in two rough flights based on initial impressions of age. We all kibbitized about each wine for a few minutes and then went onto the next one. Then we went back – after an hour or so – and tasted each one again. Then one by one, the supplier revealed the wine to the group.

The provider of Wine #1 put us on tilt a bit by pooh-poohing his pull and basically apologizing. That colored my impression of the wine, which felt like a soft resolved GC wine more on the masculine side. Good, not great. Dark-fruited but not all that expressive. I picked up a cedary, Bordeaux-like nose. The reveal: 1990 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes I’ve had this controversial wine before. You simply expect more from this producer, in this vineyard, in this vintage. It seems too soft, dilute and advanced given its pedigree. Something hollow about it … kinda like Leo DiCaprio’s character in “Catch Me if You Can.” It’s wearing the right clothes, but deep down it knows it isn’t what it’s supposed to be.

Wine #2 seemed like the most complete wine of the night for me. Clearly decades old, with an equilibrium and ease about it. It’s nicely resolved and ready, with plummy fruits and a smoky aftertaste. It’s full but not heavy. Super nose. This is my favorite wine after the first pass. Reveal: 2000 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Echezeaux I love MG wines from 00 and 01 right now. Totally in the zone, with an earthy elegance about them.

Wine #3 initially had a subdued nose. Initial tastes indicated this is the most lifted and red-fruited of all the wines. With air and time, a peppery/wild note emerges. But the main marker is gorgeous strawberry coupled with softish, dusty tannins. It’s almost Rayas like to me. (Early guess: Bertheau Bonnes Mares). Reveal: 2008 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes Not what you’d expect from the vintage – the acids are not overwhelming, providing good lift; and the wine is generous now for an 08. Very long finish that lingers and haunts after you’ve emptied your small pour. This wine will hit 6th gear in about 10 years. I prefer Rousseau’s interpretation of the vineyard a bit more than MG’s sturdier take. I think that Rousseau comes from whiter rocks/soil.

The second clutch of wines looked and smelled younger.

Wine #4 is a chewy, rich wine, full of blackberry. Very young. There’s a sweet fruit core that reminds me of one of those pressed cellophane fruit roll-ups of my youth. But there’s some savory notes and just a touch of gaminess to it to keep it in balance. The tannins and acidity are buried in layers of puppy fat. It’s like a baby chocolate lab – a bit gawky but eager for affection. Reveal: 2017 Henri Jouan Clos St. Denis. My first Jouan and I’m impressed. Someone notes these are wines for Truchot fans. Another wag says Dujac without the stems.

Wine #5 feels like the most structured wine of the night. Its mouthfeel has a lot of gears. There’s zip to it. A bit of shoeshine on the nose at first. Mix of dark and red fruits, with lots of sap and earth. There’s a menthol/mint thing going on that has me jokingly calling out “Ramonet!” Reveal: 2016 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques The provider of this wine said he brought it to show how far the “lesser” Rousseaus have come in recent years. I agree 100%. This 1er cru is young, polished and has good drive. But it’s a bit blocky now and stays in its lane. I assume it can spread its wings in the years to come.

Wine #6 was an appropriate finale. Started a bit tight but turned into a pleasure bomb. Tons of dark cherry fruit on the nose. The late picking here worked! Soil and big fruit on the palate. But it’s all balanced and held in check. Is it Hudelot? Reveal: 2013 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes Hmmm. Makes sense now. But another interesting double-take on the vintage – very giving now, full compote-like fruit. Not what I think of when I think 13. From the choicest old-vine parcels of CdR, this wine will age well, shedding fruit (it has oodles to spare) to pick up some added complexity.

Fun night of self-important pontification, humbling reveals and gentle ribbing. All the wines represented very well, save for the Vogue. We tried to console its owner, but he had an apt reply: “Hey I didn’t make the wine. I just brought it!” I think it’s fair to say that with air that the Clos Ruchottes emerged as the majority favorite.

What can you say about Rousseau? That perfume. That “relaxed” structure. That stony airiness. They are like Karl Malone – they always deliver!

Good time. Thanks for that rousseau ruchottes. One of the best 08s I’ve had in awhile.

As much as it pains me to do it, I have to acknowledge that Mr Fu once again showed his discerning palate by calling the village and year on the Jouan and getting close on the Ech.

This was a lot of fun, everyone picked a good to great bottle and they all worked well together.

1990 Comtes de Vogue Musigny
What a way to kick things off. This confused and confounded us to no end. Right away I called 90’s, even though it was showing advanced secondary and hints of tertiary development, the color was always vibrant and amid the chaos of its earthy, musky, dusty, mushroom, saddle leather, and Bordeaux-like, oak accents, the fruit seemed too vibrant for it to be a seriously old wine. While I wouldn’t recommend buying this wine, I thought it was super interesting (my first time with this wine) and I enjoyed it more than most. When we came back to it on second pass, some of the off accents had blown off and the wine was rallying. I’m sure there are plenty bottles out there, and that it will be sure to confuse people for many years to come. Wonder what happened with the wine-making here. I called 90’ Vogue on first pass, then foolishly talked myself out of it by the end.

2000 Mugneret-Gibourg Echezeaux
The wine is very even keel, on the softer/sensual side for a Grand Cru, though I did appreciate the slightly elevated acidity on the palate, as it meshed with the ripe dark red fruit very well. Better still on the second pass, the finish was so slick and graceful it reminded me of an infinity pool, with the liquid glycerin seeming to swirl around in the mouth, softly changing direction on its own accord. This got one or two votes for favorite on the night on the 1st pass, but not on the 2nd pass.
Cam called 2001 early, then Charlie Echezeaux later, which made sense, then quickly Mugneret-Gibourg which made perfect sense.

2008 Armand Rousseau Ruchottes Chambertin: Where all elements of the wine are fused together to create a beautiful thing, it doesn’t seem right to pick it apart, but we’ll try to explain. While the Mugneret-Gibourg had really nice freshness, this took things a step or two higher, ultra fresh and high toned nose with bramble, white pepper, mint/menthol accenting the ultra pure red fruit. Someone said the nose reminded of Northern Rhone and I understood that, with a savory spice character along with the slightly sweet fruit impression. Lots of red, deep strawberry/raspberry/cherry fresh fruit flavors on the palate, and yet light on its feet. More elegant than powerful, not a ton of back palate strength here. Still just a beautiful wine that seemed to defy the vintage, which is what great growers can do. When we came back to this on the 2nd lap, everyone quickly showed their appreciation, big fireworks on the nose. Definitely most popular and consensus WOTN.

2017 Jouan Clos Saint Denis
Showing a softer, riper, destemmed, voluptuous style. Somewhat medicinal to start, though mostly blowed off by the end. Lower side of medium acidic freshness. Reminded some of new world but there were no cola notes or anything too flagrant. While this pushed the limits of ripeness and forward easiness for Grand Cru, it never seemed to go over the edge. It improved with air, and the sweetness from the oak did integrate noticeably by the second pass. 09’ was called early, but by the end was convinced it was younger, and agreed with Charlie’s 17’ call. Forward and seductive, it left me craving a little more freshness, though partly due to the company it kept on the night.

2016 Armand Rousseau 1er Lavaux St. Jacques: Shows good freshness and spice on the nose. Loved the action across the palate on first pass, with a slight firmness to it, and a bit of tension from the oak. Really dances in the mouth, and has a sturdiness to it. By the 2nd pass I guessed it was the one 1er Cru of the lineup. Thought maybe Hubert Lignier Morey V.V. but more just a shot in the dark. Quite a treat to have two Rousseau’s on the night.

2013 Ponsot Clos de la Roche
My bottle and a somewhat risky choice. But being familiar with young Ponsot helps a lot. Loved the 2010 earlier this year and was curious how the 2013 would fare. Most important thing is these wines need lots of air when young. Opened this around Noon time and had a small taste to assess. Closed aromatics and plenty firm but nice on the palate, good sap for 2013, herbal too. Easy decision to double decant and be liberal with air. Gave everyone a fairly low fill to allow more oxygen in the bottle throughout the day.

By the evening the aromatics were still shy, but at least some attractive aromas were coaxed. Quite ripe, showing a firm but somewhat accessible mix of pure and sappy dark red fruit on the palate, good strong medium acid, showing a small bites of tartness at times. So chewy on the finish, and while it doesn’t seem super intense at first, it sneaks up on you in time, showing a hypnotic, pulsating effect that sails on for a good while after swallowing. This is why I broach young burgundy, it has an energy to it that’s hard to find in mature examples, which tend to give more on the nose than the palate.