I hosted our Monday Table group this week, with the theme being great vintage, aged red Burgundy. I threw in a bracket of under-rated vintage white Burgundy from Ramonet just to keep everyone on their toes.
Two Aged Champagne
1928 Moët & Chandon Champagne Brut Impérial: No bubbles but the colour is sound and wine drinks wonderfully well. Some grilled nuts plenty of spice and chalk and salt. Good depth of flavour with a sharp line of minerally acidity. Excellent length.
1964 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut : From Magnum, the fill was down a bit. No bubbles and the colour was ok. Some nutty aldehyde greets the nose. It has notes of custard apple, toast, brioche and preserved lemons. It is full in the mouth and possesses good shape. There’s plenty of proper development, with some truffled honey things and a finish that still has chalky chew. No where near as good as a Magnum we had a few years ago, but still fun to drink.
A Young white Burg Bracket. Same producer, same vintage.
2018 Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers : Generous and accessible. Perfectly ripe orchard fruits trimmed with spice. Silky of texture and good mineral detail. Balanced and quite delicious.
2018 Jean-Claude Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru : Dense and deep and relatively tight. Possesses a core of sappy white peach fruit. There’s a suggestion of aniseed and a creamy richness. It is powerful and layered and powers through the finish with great authority. Needs a bit more time.
2018 Jean-Claude Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru : This was so pure and elegant, but ready to play. A Very fine nose of lemon, white flowers, mint, flint and chalk. It has flesh coupled with exquisite detail. It has excellent presence and a sense of calm. The finish is extremely persistent and leaves a light spice imprint.
2018 Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes : Well and truly held its own against the Grand Crus, with similar weight and density. Delicious white peach and preserved lemon fruits. Loads of spice and some saline minerality. Supper fleshy and nice detail to the long finish. Already drinking very well.
Four different Gevrey Grand Crus
1978 Joseph Drouhin Griotte-Chambertin, Grand Cru: Started off a little shy, but got going with air. The nose had some menthol and meat and black tea. The palate was fine and elegant. There was plenty of perfume and spice. It was silky and expansive and possessed sneaky length.
1978 Pierre Damoy Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Grand Cru : The aroma was marred just a little by some light mouldy mushroom from the cork. The palate was where everything was happening with this wine. Sweet, luscious and spicy. So velvety and layered and long.
1945 Dupard Ainé Charmes-Chambertin, Grand Cru : A superb showing. There’s a core of rich black cherry fruit along with plenty of meat and earth nuance. It is a deep wine and has great complexity. There’s a creamy feel against the gums and length to burn.
1949 Bouchard Aîné & Fils Chambertin, Grand Cru : Still packed with a wealth of dark fruits. Has some pine needle sap and smoked meats too. With air you get curry leaf spice. Layered, powerful, long and very Chambertin.
Two producers from two decades that adjoin.
1928 Domaine Jessiaume Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravières : This bottle was re-corked at the Domaine a few years ago. It had deliciously sweet, and perfumed fruits. There was loads of spice and a hint of leather. It was fine and complex and built through the palate, fanning out on the finish. Very good wine.
1929 Domaine Jessiaume Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravières : Another bottle re-corked at the Domaine. This has sweet cherry fruit, ginger spice and rose petals. There’s some Hoisin development. It has flesh and something cool and minerally just below the surface. Great balance and presence and terrific length.
1937 Armand Naulot Corton, Grand Cru: Smells of smoke, leather and soy. It is sweet and vinous in the mouth, with layers of flavour. It has a cool, stony feel and still a gentle flex of muscle to the tail. Got better and better in the glass.
1937 Armand Naulot Beaune 1er Cru: Had a ‘piss ant’ little crumbly cork, but remarkably it had done its job. The wine has a deep and intense colour. There was still plenty of chunky dark fruits. It had rose petals and other plant matter a plenty. A very good and showy wine that delighted but didn’t quite have the class of the Corton.
The 1960’s
1964 Bouchard Père et Fils Bonnes Mares, Grand Cru : Looked a bit musty when we first opened it but was firing when we poured it a few hours later. A nose of pine needle sap, smoke and wild herbs. It had rich and powerful dark fruits and cherry stone minerality. It was layered and nuanced and finished with excellent clarity.
1961 Domaine Gaston Bissey Grand Echezeaux, Grand Cru : Woodsy scents coupled with truffle, grilled nuts and sandalwood make up the aroma profile. The palate is sweet and tertiary and medium of body. There’s some volatile lift and floral spice at the end.
1969 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes, Grand Cru : Earth and truffle development coupled with notes of musk, smoked meats and flora. Sweet and plush in the mouth, luscious and creamy. Gets better and better in the glass, really fanning out and finishing with presence and persistence.
1969 Barton & Guestier Charmes-Chambertin, Grand Cru: A relatively sweet and simple wine. Some cherry fruit, a hint of mushroom and smoked meats. A touch of astringency at the end.
The obligatory Yquem
1979 Château d’Yquem, Sauternes: A nose of apricot jam, lanolin, vanilla and honey. Rich and sweet, voluminous, and energetic. Lovely poise and balance. Persistent.
The obligatory Port that is 100 years older than my wife
1871 Quinta do Loureiro Porto Colheita: Has such good floral spirit and a myriad of dried fruits and nuts. There’s some bitter chocolate and licorice root too. It is rich and heady through the mid and fine and floral at the back-end. Every sip is a joy and length of flavour is phenomenal.
Didn’t need to open this but we did.
1929 Lafontan Armagnac: Raw spirit nearly burned the bejesus out of my nostrils, in fact I was left with no nasal hair after the first sniff. Plenty of flavour here and quite enjoyable, but I am really just a delicate little thing and not a big spirits drinker.
