Took a half day today and opened several bottles at a local haunt:
2002 Cristal
I wanted to hate this, but I thought this was miles better than the 02 BdB from Roederer. It was ice cold to start but once it warmed it threw off salty sea scents and a panoply of citrus scents. Would I pay $170 all day? No. But it’s a complete wine and showing a lot of class. Wide open, let it warm if you drink a bottle.
1998 H. Lignier Clos de la Roche
What a treat - the bouquet is off the charts good. All dark fruits, plums, chocolate, spices (clove?) with an underlying earthiness, this is the quintessential iron fist in a velvet glove. A beautiful wine, perhaps the finest red burgundy I’ve tasted.
1998 Courcel Pommard Rugiens
This is another on point wine, after the CdR, it tasted rustic and brambly. Yet, it grew on me in time, tons of raspberry and earth tones - definitely lighter in body than the Lignier but still tons of fruit and interesting complexity.
Cripes, I just finished work about 5 minutes ago–send some of that wine up here via courrier!
Nice notes. I was really impressed with the 1999 Lignier CdlR, but preferred the '99 Charmes Chambertin for current drinking. In 10 years, though, that CdlR is going to be killer! Glad to hear that the 1998 is already there in many ways!
Weren’t we talking about doing a Rugiens tasting sometime soon? Shoulda saved the Courcel for that!
Leah - I have a few bottles of '98 Burgundy - is it really something approachable at this stage? I’ve heard it is, but have a hard time believing it, as it would seem to be right in the middle of the closed stage.
Good to see a couple of classy 98 red burgs showing well. I have a couple bottles of the Courcel Epenots that I am holding. Always nice to catch Lignier in the sweet spot.
i haven’t tried the 02 Cristal but it sounds very nice. I think your take on in - that it blows away the 02 BdB is different from other notes I’ve seen.
Mikey - They were off a list, I wish I collected burgs back when the 98s hit. The Lignier was something special, it took about 30 minutes to hit its stride and was wide open, then took a little step back on the finish before opening again. Fun one to follow!
Leah - I don’t have enough experience with Cristal to offer anything academic regarding its lifespan, but this particular bottle was rolling from the pop of the cork. Seemed very fleshy and gained depth and nuance as it warmed (it was served ice cold out of the cellar). We let it sit on the table and warm. Or tried to, it was so delicious - I wouldn’t hesitate to open one based on this 1 bottle. 98s and 00s are making me smile right now, I’ve yet to hit one that isn’t drinkable!
Al - I was surprised that it A) was wide open and B) was as weightless and powerful as it was, like a burg if you will. I’ve only drank the 02 BdB once, about a year ago, and it had some nice stuffing but was tigher than a (fill in a metaphor). I had read all the notes from both critics and boardies going in, so I wasn’t expecting to be blown away. It wasn’t a lifechanging wine by any stretch, and other than this instance I wouldn’t pay $169 for it, but the mouthfeel is so polished that it’s tough not to like, right now anyway.