A Bundle of Older Burgs (and one young'un) (oh, and a bubbly)

WINE TALK
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Well, I’ve been dying for some Burgundy since I got back from Europe, so last night Christine Huang (who just moved to NYC, welcome back Christine!) and Kevin Wagner dropped by the house for some duck and other goodies. With the duck resting comfortably in the oven, we began popping corks…

-NV Moutard Rose Champagne
Gorgeous reddish salmon color, lovely red berries and cream on the nose, with more emphasis on the berries than the cream. The mouthfeel is fruity at first but quickly segways into a nicely structured, long finish with lots of acidity. I love this producer, and at $30 it’s a nice QPR too. Pretty damned good with some Pata Negra sprinkled with sea salt (try it, it’s amazing).

-2002 Frederic Mugnier Chambolle Musigny
Usually I like to go older to younger, but the other wines were taking their time opening up, so we moved to this one. The color on this is absolutely translucently red, a beautiful hue that almost makes you stop and stare into it. I say almost, because the nose entices you to keep going into the glass with bright cherries and floral notes. The palate began putting on weight almost immediately, offering sweet cherry, spicy notes and a gorgeous, lacy mouthfeel that showed that weightless weight that good Burgundy can get. The finish seemed to hang around for minutes on end, haunting one with the memory of its beauty. I kept smelling the glass even after finishing the bottle, I couldn’t get enough of it.

-1989 Leroy Vosne Romanee les Beaux Monts
Ooooooh… I think I need a moment. This had that lovely musk that older Burgs get, something I just want to rub my face into. Wow. Sorry, I need another moment. Dark fruits and berries and sous-bois and spices really fought for your attention, with a velvety mouthfeel that carried everything through to the long, softly tannic finish. If ever you want to show someone Vosne spices, this would be a good example to use. This kept adding weight and complexity through the night, a real beauty.

-1999 Leroy Vosne Romanee les Beaux Monts
What a comparison! MUCH darker, with raspberry and spice notes, you could tell this was related to the 1989, but the latter had come together and this still had a ways to go. Still, it was beautiful, so fresh it felt like it had just been bottled. What a delight.

-2006 Lucie & Auguste Lignier Bourgogne Rouge
We were chatting about the Lignier saga and I mentioned I had just received this wine, so we figured it would only be appropriate to see how things were going… Very tight at first due to the temperature (pulled straight from the cellar), it began opening up slowly with bright red berries accented by some darker fruits and bright acidity. A bit light on the palate after the Leroys, but that was to be expected.

Still, this was a great way to pass a Wednesday night, and the roast duck was a lovely marriage to the wines, as were the sides (haricots verts, roast salted potatoes, wild mushroom fricassee). A big thank you to Kevin for bringing the Leroys and to Christine for the after-dinner cheeses.
Cheers! [gen_fro.gif]

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Fantastic night! Now if my hangover would go away…

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And just 3 people. I am actually OK, just a bit tired. [berserker.gif]

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That '89 Leroy sounds great – and the charcuterie doesn’t look too bad either [cheers.gif]

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Michel,
great notes on all the wines. And I’m jealous, no Leroy experience for me.

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Ray, you’ll be in Leroy-land soon enough, no worries there!

That charcuterie was 100 grams of Bellota I brought back with me from Spain. Absolutely, mind-bendingly sinfully delicious. And the sprinkling of sea salt really brought out the flavors and added a nice crunch to the melting fat. Yum.

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Michel, true enough. But, you know, I’d feel much better about all of this if I raided your cellar… [beg.gif]
and after visiting your blog so much, your fridge as well!

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Thanks for note on the '02 Mugnier CM. I grabbed a few back in they day when I could afford them.
I knew it would be pretty special stuff for a village wine. Does anyone know if there is some young
vine Amoureuses and/or Fuees in this one?

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very impressive

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Michel, thanks for the great write-up.

I had the 1998 Leroy VR Les Beaux Monts 2 nights ago and definitely enjoyed it. I did find it a bit “serious” but very classy and finely pedigreed. It was the group’s third-place wine of the night (behind a 1995 Meo Camuzet Clos Vougeot and a 1993 Rousseau Clos de la Roche), so it was definitely very well-liked. I imagine that some day it will come across more like your '89 experience (and I hope to be there when it does!).

-Michael

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Gregg, not sure, but man was this good, and has been for a while (I’ve opened a few this year).

Michael, I am a fan of the well-made 1998s, depending on producer, they can offer some nice drinking right now or age a bit.

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I’m not sure about the Mugnier Chambolle make-up, either, but I will add that a 2002 Chambolle villages wine I have really good feelings about is the Ghislaine Barthod:

2002 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny. The nose of this outstanding wine is funkily fuzzy, velvety and layered. It features mysterious forest sous bois and mossy aromas smoldering beneath crushed raspberries, clove, tar and sexy sweet incense smells. It is multi-dimensional, textured and deeply inviting, despite the wine’s relative youth. In the mouth, it keeps the hits coming. It is seamless and again feels beautifully-textured and layered. Rich, pure, precocious red berry fruit displays plenty of soft baby fat. There is a great grip here and a beautiful sappy flow that persistently coats the palate with all that goodness. I love the fleshiness but this also has a nice vibrant streak running below all of that–making it feel complete even at this stage of its evolution.

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Great notes as always… With a lovely pic!

Never had a Domaine Leroy bottle but the experiences I read are always amazing, one day… Mugnier is one of my favorite producers too bad pricing has gotten crazy. I had the 02’ a few years ago and agree on the nose it was just incredible!

G. Greenbaum- The Mugnier Chambolle is made up of 2 parcels of vines, one located in Les Plantes (premier cru) planted in 1968 and the second from the village level of La Combe d’Orveau where some vines are 40+year old vines. But the main reason the wines are so good is Freddy’s winemaking.

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Thanks Leah. I knew there was 1er Cru fruit, but didn’t where it originated.
Gregg (see signature line).

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Thanks Leah, I had no idea there was Premier Cru in there as well. Between that and Freddy’s skills, it explains a lot.