We have discussed, with much vigour, the green character that showed up in the 04 red Burgundies shortly after their release but the whites seemed to have escaped the same level of scrutiny. 2004 in both the Cote de Beaune and Chablis is one that I and many Burgundy lovers have admired since release but the vintage signature really seems to be marking the wines over the past 12 months. There seems to be a real green, herbal streak showing up in the wines with many notes of nettle, pronounced fennel, celery and dried herbs in wines from both the Cote de Beaune and Chablis. Any other recent experiences?
Last night’s bottle of 2004 Dauvissat Chablis ‘La Forest’ was case in point. The aroma has notes of nettle, fennel seed and celery along with a big blast of salt water. It is pulpy and sappy in the mouth but slightly green and with a vintage derived leanness. It finishes with a torrent of minerals and a big squeeze of lemon juice.
I shared a bottle of the 2004 Dauvissat Chablis Les Clos at dinner awhile back with fellow board member Jim Cowan and he picked up on the herbal streak you’re referring to right away. The only other 2004 Chablis I have tried was a Brocard Les Cos but did not experience any herbal or vegtable aromas. Maybe its a characteristic of the 2004 Dauvissat wines. Intereted in reading what other people have experienced.
Having championed '04 red burgs strongly in the past, I am now of the opinion I largely got it wrong, but that’s a story for another post…
With regards to whites, I have not exactly seen this recently (but then again I haven’t had many '04 Chablis lately either), but I have noticed that green citric note that has been present in most whites since day one, still doesn’t seem to have developed or gone away…
I have not encountered anything like you describe, but of course I mainly focus on Chablis. A recent Billaud-Simon Tète d’Or was not in the least affected and neither was an earlier magnum of the same wine. I think I tasted a D’Auvenay Aligoté late last year, on which I did not detect any greenness either, but of course it’s hard to tell through the massive wall of SO2…
Unfortunately, my stocks of 2004 Chablis are dwindling and the few I have left are really too young to try at the moment.
It certainly is not just limited to Chablis, I’ve noticed this floral/herbal thing recently in Lafon’s Clos de la Barre, Meursaults from Pierre Morey, Roulot and Buisson Charles as well as Puligny from Sauzet. It seems to be more pronounced in the wines over the past 12-18 months.
Jeremy, is this a new finding in this wine? I had the wine 6-8 months ago and did not detect this. I have a couple left…Perhaps I’ll open another soon…
Unfortunately, I have to agree. It seems as though things have been reversed in 2004: the reds started out chalky while the whites were crisp and clean. Now many whites are taking on this chalky characteristic while it is dissipating in many of the reds. Time will tell, but I’m quite bearish on the 2004 whites these days from any producers, especially out of 750ml. I haven’t had a pristine 2004 white in more than a year. At least there are still 2007’s around to buy!
Roger,
The green was much more pronounced on last night’s Dauvissat Forest than previous bottles even consumed as recently as a couple of months ago.
Best Regards
Jeremy
Jeremy,
I have often noticed it in the whites (nearly as often as the reds) and it has dampened my enthusiasm for the vintage from the beginning. It is not quite as offensive in the whites (compared to the reds) but it is still very distracting. Like the reds, there are some whites which are much less affected. IMO, it is becoming more pronounced in both colors with time.
Interestingly, I just had a bottle of Dauvissat 04 Forest and didn’t notice it at all (I think it was the Dauvissat-camus bottling), and several Fevre’s, most reccently all clos, when not poxed, have not had it. I’ll try to pay more attention, but I figure if I have to look hard for it, it’s not a big concern for me individually. (there has been a strong tomatillo note in Fevre clos 2006 and 2007 for me, but this is likely unrelated, and I don’t buy any Fevre to age anymore anyway).
I’ve just searched my notes and there was also a d’Auvenay 2004 Meursault Chaumes de Perrières, on which I did not find any green notes. Of course, I wasn’t looking for any. As far as Chablis goes, a Billaud-Simon “Vaillons” was delightful on my b-day a year minus one week ago. I will try to get one of my well stocked friends to open a 2004 Forest one of these days…
This is very disturbing news, I haven’t had any 04 whites in a while (and avoided the reds almost from Day One as I’m very sensitive to the greenie meanies).
Took a look at my tasting notes for 04 Chablis. 5 various Fevre Grand Crus and not a meanie in the bunch. Last tried in 11/2010. 04 continues to be a favorite vintage of mine for Chablis. Very classic to my palate and looking forward to remaining bottles in my cellar.
I’ve had only a handful of '04s so far, but I’ve been on the lookout for this character and it was absolutely not present in a few recent bottles: Fevre Vaudesir (I think that’s what we had), Henri Boillot Meursault Perrières, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault Perrières. (The latter two, tried together, could not have been more different and would make you doubt the primacy of terroir over winemaker.)
Undoubtedly, this will invoke the same issue as the reds: some people find it, others are oblivious to it. So, like with the reds, if those who aren’t sensitive to the issue don’t find a problem in the whites…it won’t answer the basic question of whether or not they are affected.
So, those of us who are really sensitive to the stuff in the reds…will have to see about the whites…or listen carefully to those we know are sensitive to the stuff.
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