2006 BURGUNDY DINNER - Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck, Paragon (2/4/2018)
Another one in our line-up of Burgundy vintage explorations, where each person brings a nice bottle from one vintage. Always a great way to put a finger on the characteristics of a particular vintage, and get a snapshot of how the wines are currently developing.
2006s have had a middling reputation, for both the critics and in my own drinking experience, for sometime. This tasting, which had some of the very best winemakers and terroirs in Burgundy represented, more or less cemented that impression for me. Like most vintages, there are very good wines to be had, especially at the best addresses, but 2006 was not a year where one would expect the heights of the truly great vintages.
The whites in particular were a bit behind the curve. While they were all decently good in the context of their plots and makers, they were also noticeably sweeter and more honeyed than classic vintages, with a certain softness and a lack of that beautiful mineral spine that often marks the best white wines from Burgundy for me. I must say though, after a decade plus in bottle, they have held up a little better than I thought they would, showing an unexpectedly fine balance. However, all consider, I would still say these are wines that are better to drink sooner rather than later.
The reds were more pleasurable and perhaps a notch up in quality on the whites. Again, this was not a blockbuster vintage - the wines were far softer, friendlier, more delicate than you would get from say a 2005, 2009, 2010 or 2012, and they lacked the brightness and purity of say 2001, 2002 or even 2007. What they do give though are charming, easy and very pleasurable expressions of their terroir, mostly leaning towards the sunnier, red-fruited spectrum. If anything, they remind me of the 2000 vintage. Not wines for long cellaring then, but perfectly fine candidates for drinking while waiting for other vintages to come around. And, if they are anything like the 2000s, they may yet surprise us with their longevity.
BUBBLES TO START
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1995 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires - France, Champagne
Really nice. The Champagne started out with a familiar bouquet of creamy, bready aromatics with white fruit and mineral running alongside, and then a palate that was really fresh and juicy, with a fine-boned structure of precise acidity and mineral gliding through deep but clean notes of white fruit and lemon zest. Beautiful detailed and very fine. This was elegance personified. Delicious stuff, just starting to show well, but with a long future ahead of it yet. (93 pts.)
CHEVALIER-MONTRACHET
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2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Very good, but somehow not quite hitting the heights of either the last bottle I had a few years back, nor of the very best vintages from Bouchard. This started with a really expressive nose - sweet cream, florals, ripe fruit with almost a tropical leaning to them, and just that touch of buttery vanilla oak. A bit new worldly if I am being harsh, but attractive nonetheless. The palate was not quite as aromatically expressive as the nose suggested, but it was really impressive in its own way. Here, big, powerful flavours of ripe yellow fruit and sweet lemons were spiked with bits of spice and mineral, all this layered with a good touch of cream and vanilla. The finish just had a little hard bitter hint. Good, solid stuff, but somehow missing a bit of X-factor. It had great length and quite a bit of power to it, along with a decent balance and precision, but it just lacked a little something to make a great wine. (93 pts.) -
2006 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Rather alarmingly advanced, but this was very pleasing. Like the 2006 Bouchard Chevalier-Montrachet we had alongside though, this was clearly not one of the great Leflaive vintages. The nose had a unusually ripe, stone fruited note with almost a touch of tropical, roasted pineapple aromas at the base, and more than a dollop of golden honey. With time, a bit of earth and some umami tones drifted out along with a really floral perfume - think honeysuckle and chrysanthemum almost. For all those sweet shades though, this somehow did not smell anywhere as new worldly as the Bouchard on the same flight - perhaps the lack of new oak influence on the bouquet. The palate had a certain perfumed sweetness to it that reflected the nose, like honeyed chamomile and subtle stone fruited flavours, all this gently lifted with decent acidity and a quiet little backdrop of minerality. Nicely balanced and really well-integrated, with a nice plump depth and a soft elegance leading into a gently long finish. Absolutely delicious and drinking nicely, if just rather too advanced and, like the Bouchard, coming across just a touch simple at its age. A very good wine, but not a great wine. (93 pts.)
MONTRACHET
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2006 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Rather bigger and sweeter than normal, but this was still a pretty fine wine. The nose started with a rather sweet waft of caramel corn along with more typical notes of white fruit, cream and florals, and then a little twirl of minerality at the edges. A pretty attractive bouquet. The palate had that same sweetness suggested on the nose, fanning out in a creamily textured mouthful of stone fruit and honey laced with a
of spice. Well integrated and decently balanced, with plenty of Montrachet’s effortless. There was quite a bit of glycerol popping up here and there, especially leading to a long but rather heavy weighted finish. Otherwise, this was very pleasurable, just lacked a touch of the polish and finesse that one would expect from a Marquis de Laguiche Monty. (93 pts.)
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2006 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Superb. This was by far the pick of the whites amidst some fairly stern competition - while the other three Grand Crus showed a little sweeter and maybe flatter than normal, the Sauzet somehow managed to transcend the vintage in its sheer quality. The nose still smelt rather ripe, but this was the least sweet of the quartet of whites, showing light notes of honey and oak alongside white fruit and a touch of peach and pear, all this fringed with drifts of earth, spice and mineral. The most classically Burgundian of the lot. The palate was very classy. Everything was in the right place - effortless depth and power, clean, pure white-fruited flavours, charming lifts of spice and mineral, and a nice bit of superbly integrated acidity and minerally structure - all this packed beautifully in a creamily complete package. Superb long finish too, with a nicely savoury flush of earthy mineral and spice absolutely filling the backpalate. Super stuff, with more elegance and verve than its peers. Drinking nicely on the night too, but with the structured and freshness to age effortless over the next few years. (95 pts.)
BONNES MARES I
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2006 Lucien Le Moine Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Very nice. There was a lovely nose on this - sweet blue fruit, fragrant spice, violet flowers. Really attractively perfumed. The palate was a bit more reserved than the nose, but was really nice nonetheless. There was a certain elegant austerity to it, with fine tannins and nice acidity framing clean, clear flavours of blue fruit, seasoned with gentle spice and mineral. A spare, elegant expression of Bonnes Mares that was drinking nicely now. Good stuff. (93 pts.) -
2006 Domaine & Selection Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Made by Laurent Ponsot, this was another very pleasant Bonne Mares. The nose was a bit deeper, less floral than the 2006 Le Moine Bonnes Mares on the same flight, with powdered spices and earthy mineral drifting blue fruited aromas. Masculine but attractive in its own way. The palate was really nice too. Here, fine, chewy tannins and decent acidity framed clean, rather pure flavours of blue fruit again lined with a bit of spice and mineral. A surprisingly enjoyable Ponsot, drinking well right now at what would be considered a young age for his wines. A truer Bonnes Mores than the otherwise nice and very elegant Lucien Le Moine too - this was more muscular and powerful. A good wine, with a long future ahead of it. While drinking nicely now, it would be interesting to try again in say 4-5 years’ time. (93 pts.)
LES AMOUREUSES
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2006 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Wow. Somehow significantly better than the last bottle I had a couple of month back - this was a really delightful wine. It certainly had a showstopper of a bouquet - violets, dark cherries and blueberries, with a subtle backdrop of fragrant spice, all waiting out of the glass in beautiful, perfumy wafts. Very pretty. The palate was everything one would expect of an Amoureuses too - silky, slinky, with soft acidity and the finest tannins caressing deliciously pure flavours of dark cherries and red berries, all this infused with a little kiss of spice and florals. Elegant and entrancing, with an engaging amount of depth and structure to boot. Absolutely beautiful, with enough headroom to age nicely over the next few years as well. (94 pts.) -
2006 Domaine Comte Georges de VogĂĽĂ© Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
A decently good wine in its own fashion, but this suffered badly from being served together with an ethereally beautiful bottle of Drouhin’s 2006 Amoureuses. The nose here was very Vogue in character - deeper and richer than the Drouhin, it gave aromas of dark cherries and blueberries, spice, earth and crushed violets. A thick and heady bouquet, but really quite attractive. The palate was rather out of step with the nose though. The depth was there, and a surprisingly amount of power, but there was something just a bit drying and tough beneath its otherwise juicy black cherry flavours. Finish was pleasant, with a little kiss of spice and crushed flowers. All in all, decently good, but lacking the grace and elegance one would expect from an Amoureuses. A bit disappointing given how nicely this showed in its youth. Given the trajectory of the wine’s development, I would probably drink this sooner rather than later. (92 pts.)
MUSIGNY + ECHEZEAUX
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2006 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
This was very, very good indeed. A world of a difference from the slightly drying Vogue Amoureuses one flight back. The nose was characteristically Musigny, with deep draws of blueberries, loamy earth, violets and spice, all drawn together into a tight, seamless bouquet. Deep and lovely stuff. The palate was a classic Musigny as well - full and deep, yet effortlessly light on its feet, with powerful flavours of blueberries, earth, mineral and spice, all wrapped together in beautifully fine, even prettily structured package. It had a tremendously long and wonderfully integrated finish, with a gentle backdrop of earth and beautiful blushes of warm spice and crushed flowers coming along behind. Still needs some time before this really comes into its own, but it was gorgeous even now. A really complete wine - this has developed every bit as beautifully as I had hoped it would when first tasting it some 7 years ago. A classic Musigny then, and one that should age effortlessly through the decades. (95 pts.) -
2006 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Another truly wonderful wine - paired with a 2006 Vogue Musigny, it made made for a really knockout flight. The wine was very Liger-Belair in its polished sweetness, showing perfumed wafts of violets and blue fruit, earth and spice, in a very seductive nose. This then led into a deliciously full mouthful of pure, blue fruited flavours infused with violet accents on, all draped with lovely velvety tannins and lovely integrated acidity. It had a beautiful long finish too, finely detailed and deliciously fruited, with kisses and blueberries and spice caressing the back-palate. Really really good, and drinking deliciously well now. One always wonders whether these seductively good Liger-Belair wines have the structure and build to age into the long term, but given how delicious they are in their youth, that may be an irrelevant question - if I had any of these bottles, they would be guzzled up fairly quickly. (95 pts.)
BONNES MARES II
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2006 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Superlative. This was a very fine bottle from Roumier. It had such a deep, lovely nose, full of violets and blueberries, spice and earth - a rich, arresting bouquet. The palate was at once full and powerful, yet somehow also really bright and airy, with pure, juicy flavours of blueberries shading into lighter-toned cherries and red berries. This did not seem as dense and inscrutable as some Roumier wines can be in their youth and adolescence. In fact, it was deliciously juicy stuff; full, complete, yet impeccably balanced and beautifully effortless throughout. At the finish, super-fine tannins still gave the wine a little bit of bite. That aside, it was actually surprisingly open. It does probably needs 5-6 years more before approaching anywhere near a peak drinking window, but boy was it gorgeous even on the night. (95 pts.) -
2006 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Delicious stuff. Although I must say this really suffered from being placed next to a wonderful bottle of Roumier’s 2006 Bonnes Mares: it would probably have taken more plaudits otherwise. It had a great nose, with just the lightest touch of toasty bramble and herb floating around a nice core of blueberry and earth aromas. The palate showed a light bite of velvety tannins and fresh acidity, lending the wine a very pure, almost delicate feel - quite unusually so a for a 2006 I thought, with a lovely elegance showing in its otherwise mouthfilling flavours of blueberries laced with a nice spiciness. Great finish too, with a light chew on the backpalate reminding us that this still has a long way to go before being fully resolved and ready for peak drinking. A very fine Bonnes Mares indeed, and one that should age very nicely over the next decade and beyond. (94 pts.)
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