Well, I’m back in Montreal. I will miss Switzerland and France but will be back a few times a year for business and pleasure.
One thing i was looking forward to, coming back here, were my lunches with @Peter_Chiu.
This was a special lunch. We were celebrating Peter’s retirement and it was the first time I was bringing my wife and uncle along. It was wonderful.
Larmandier-Bernier Vieille Vigne du Levant 2011
I brought this to show what a good vineyard and producer could do in a bad vintage. Great wine. Time on lees and good oak bring a very serious profile to this: spices, roasted nuts but also pear, citrus and chalk to balance it out. One of the few 2011 standouts.
We didn’t open the PYCM because I had brought a double-blind for Peter’s new 2N club!
Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet Tête du Clos 2007
Peter brought this because it’s the oldest Dancer he had in the cellar. Bright, clean golden color. The nose exhibits mature Burgundy markers (nuts, slight caramel) but also fresh fruits and crushed stones. Beautiful wine that only got better with air and time. The palate was that perfect balance of evolved fruit and bright Chassagne minerality. Lovely. Drink now.
The companion was:
Albert Grivault Bourgogne Blanc 2017
Many preferred this generic to the Dancer initially. This was reduced when poured but gained weight and depth quickly. Ripe citrus, pear, vanilla and cardamom on the nose and palate. Good acidity with bright flavors on the palate but where time got the Dancer to improve, this didn’t really evolve with time and the finish lacked a little. That being said, this punches above its “generic” classification. Drink now.
Fun head to head on Marsannay 2022.
Trapet Marsannay 2022
My favorite by a mile. This is a wonderful effort on Northern Côte-de-Nuits! Red-berried, spicy stemminess, bright acidity but wonderful balance. Very decent finish on crunchy red-berries and fine tannins. I really liked this and could see upside to cellaring this for 5 to 7 years. Good wine.
Château de Marsannay 2022
Not bad but a little easy… it’s that good looking woman (person) that just wears a little too much perfume: dark-berried, exuberant nose full of spices, smooth with already integrated tanins, decent finish. Pretty good effort considering the price but I’m not a buyer.
And then, Peter threw us a curveball (double-blind):
Dugat-Py Pommard La Levrière TVV 2020
Wow. I guessed Dugat-Py because of the insane spices and florals but I thought this was a Gevrey! No Pommard structure and attitude here. This is a crazy pirate for Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru. The nose is an insane bouquet of florals, cool herbal tones and ripe cherries. I couldn’t get my nose out of it. The palate isn’t lacking either with the texture handling the nose: concentrated with the tannins adding volume, plenty of acidity and fruity goodness. Wonderful wine.
Catherine et Claude Maréchal Pommard La Chanière 2019
Not a bad effort at all but it suffered from being served alongside the Dugat–Py. This was more red-berried and the tannins were more Pommard (coarser). A fine wine but outclassed today.
Peter and I exchanged a few bottles and my wife made sure we had takeout from Tian Fu.
We also discussed the next lunch where we identified bottles we wanted to explore (I’m looking at you Dujac Malconsorts!).
A wonderful time of friendship, wines and food. This does the soul right.