A Century of Burgundy in One Night

WINE TALK
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A Century of Burgundy in One Night (with squab, morels, and a little patience)

Our small “Burgundy company of six” finally gathered last night to open two bottles that had been waiting for the right moment: 1929 Musigny (Henri de Bahèzre) and 1949 Richebourg (Jules Belin). All transferred from Dijon’s cellar into the US, covered in wax seal.

Both bottles had about 5 cm ullage, healthy color, and corks that looked frankly terrifying: almost black, extremely fragile, and completely blank (no markings at all). Extraction would have been impossible without an ah-so/Durand, but both came out cleanly.

For preparation, all bottles were stood upright for about 4 weeks at 16°C to allow sediment to settle. I opened them gently and decanted to remove the sediments. Serving temperature was around 16°C, which seemed logical for wines of this age.

Glassware was large Burgundy stems (Riedel Sommelier).

Because wines like these deserve proper support, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about the food. The idea was to create something Burgundian in spirit that would highlight the tertiary complexity of the wines without overwhelming them.

The centerpiece of the dinner became a squab dish built in several layers: squab leg confit + crisply fried squab breasts (medium rare) with French pilaf and a classic morel sauce.

Originally, I considered placing lightly seared foie gras under the roasted bird breasts, but I ultimately decided against it. Between the richness of the sauce and the age of the wines it felt unnecessary - and in retrospect that was absolutely the right call.

The sauce was based on shallots, stock, and cream (and morels, of course), finished with the pan juices from the birds. The goal was to bring out the earthy, forest-floor elements that mature Burgundy loves while keeping the dish balanced and elegant.

We started with these 2 wines:

1970 Robert Michel Beaune Grèves

Alive (!), but clearly the weakest wine of the lineup. Quite earthy with what I would describe as “dungeon / zombie” elements. Interesting (one could still feel Greves) but not especially charming.

1999 Bouchard (Liger-Belair) Vosne-Romanée Clos du Château

This surprised everyone. Extremely focused and precise, with textbook Vosne spice and beautiful acidity. Remarkable clarity for a village wine and easily held its place at this table. Amasing nose (VR spices/strawberry) + simple but not obtrusive palate.

1949 Richebourg (Jules Belin)

A marvelous wine. Fully alive for about 30 minutes, during which it showed everything one hopes from Richebourg: depth, velvety texture, dark spice, and wonderful tertiary complexity. The squab and morels worked beautifully with it.

1929 Musigny (Henri de Bahèzre)

This wine stole the night completely.

It opened slowly and then kept expanding for nearly an hour (!), revealing more and more layers of aroma and structure (initial tertiary, followed by fresh strawberry, followed by a symphony of strawberries/other fresh red berries, wrapped in silky tannins). The perfume was extraordinary - haunting and incredibly complex. One of those wines that reminds you what Burgundy can be at its absolute peak.

If these two wines had been served at separate dinners, we would have declared them all great. But tasted side-by-side, the 1929 Musigny clearly rose above the 1949 Richebourg.

To close the evening, we opened:

2009 Lucien Le Moine Romanée-Saint-Vivant,

partly to bridge the century gap and partly to remind ourselves that modern Burgundy, in the right hands, may one day reach similar heights. An absolutely gorgeous wine now, though. Classical RSV (silky tannins, rosewater, a bit of blackcurrant and VR spices, of course).

It showed beautifully and felt like the right way to end a night that spanned nearly 100 years of Burgundy history.

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Well that’s an evening! Strong work.
Any pics of the food? I’m quite curious.

Is it unusual for burgundy of this age to have an unmarked cork? It seems everything was as expected.

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What a treat. Belin was at this period a serious source though became less so later on. Interesting to see a relatively early Tasteviné label, which carried considerable prestige at the time.
I’m interested that you stood the wine so long at 16C-I would have gone rather lower if there were a choice but obviously it worked. The decision to decant seems to me correct even if untraditional-if a wine cannot survive that it will not survive being poured into glasses, particularly not ones as large as the Riedel Sommelier!
The proper gastronomic context makes all the difference with such wines in my experience, I salute you..

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Great notes.

Info: the Bouchard Vosne is not from Clos Du Chateau (alone) but combined with La Colombiere and Les Chaumes 1er Cru - and made by Bouchard P&F.

From 2000 onwards Louis-Michel Liger-Belair took back these vineyards and bottled them seperately.

In 2002 he also took back Aux Reignots and La Romanee, but had to share the crop with Bouchard until 2005.

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What a great line-up–wonderful notes. Well done!

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Thanks! It really was one of those rare evenings where everything came together. Unfortunately didn’t take any food photos - will definitely fix that next time.

On the corks: from what I’ve read, blank corks were quite typical for pre-50s Burgundy. This was actually our first time opening bottles this old, so it was a bit of a surprise to see them in that condition, but clearly they held up well.

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Thanks!

I’ve gotten into the habit of wrapping the bottle neck with Parafilm M. It minimizes any air exchange and lets me stand older bottles upright for extended periods without issues. Has worked well so far.

On decanting - completely agree in principle. In this case we erred on the side of caution given the age and cork condition, but you’re right that the wines still went through plenty of aeration in large stems. The Musigny in particular seemed to handle it effortlessly.

And yes, the gastronomic context really felt essential here — without the dish I think the wines would have shown very differently.

Appreciate the note on Belin as well - fascinating history there.

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Thanks! Really appreciate the clarification.

That makes a lot of sense, especially given how the wine showed - it had more structure and depth than I’d expect from a typical village Vosne.

Out of curiosity, do you know if Bouchard consistently blended La Colombiere and Les Chaumes with Clos du Chateau during the metayage period, or was it more vintage-dependent?

I wouldn’t have guessed the latter given how rich and generous ’99 was, but Burgundy always seems to have its own logic…

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I was planning to bring some ancient Burgundies to La Paulee. One of the them was a 1923 RSV of Henri de Bahèzre. It came from a great cellar.

Not happening now, but need a great excuse to open.

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For those reading who are unfamiliar, Parafilm M is basically extra-thick and stretchy saran wrap, used in laboratories for making temporary seals from the atmosphere for open vessels. It works well, but you have to wrap it tight without tearing it on the edge you are wrapping…

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