These are notes from the past week or so. The mags were all consumed on the same night along with the Mugnier. Not a bad little run.
2001 Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges clos des Porrets: From magnum (I know, right?) I certainly appreciate that the Gouges can put the hurt on you but I do agree with a comment I believe Maureen made recently to the effect that the legend outstrips the reality. I would place this bottle as Exhibit A to back up that statement. This is far more friendly than one might expect especially given the format. Oh sure, it definitely has darker Nuits notes especially in relation to the Mugnier it was served with and it ha some muscle-y tannins but they aren’t out of line and are more just in keeping with what a lot of '01s present as structure these days. Mouth-filling and tinted with some sauvage notes for a little of that Heart of Darkness quality that Nuits provides at times. I’m an unabashed fan so take this with a grain of salt if you wish but this is a very good and quite drinkable Nuits.
2000 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet: From magnum. Damn. Exactly what you would want from 10 year old Puligny village. Lemon curd sunk into a fleshy mix of pears, apples and honey with a few tumbled stones thrown in for good measure. Clean and vibrant. Not wildly complex and the finish doesn’t inspire you to join the French Foreign Legion but it delivers beautifully bottle aged Puligny and I miss that these days.
2003 Evesham Wood Cuvee J Pinot Noir: From magnum. Manages to have enough sex appeal in an odd vintage to be drinkable paired with Gouges and Mugnier. It’s ripe but not hot. It’s clunky but not over-wrought. It’s full-throttle but not cloying. Will this be your favorite EW Pinot ever? No. However, it is far from unappealing and has its place in the world especially when you have a bunch of folks around that dig domestic Pinot. This would be demure to a couple of Pinots I have had recently from, um, a different state.
2007 Mugnier Nuits St. Georges Clos de la Marechale: 2 bottles side by side to match up with the magnums. Style. I could end the review at that and get away with it. I’ll add the following: Classy. Perfumed. Debonair. Silk. Mouth-watering. Maybe the last great value from this producer and site. Go long and strong here. The price has been very right on this and it’s not coming back to this neighborhood anytime soon yet the wine is utterly delicious.
2007 Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Echezeaux: First off I would introduce this wine by saying I had it, alone, at a fantastic little restaurant in Asheville, NC after a day of travel and mostly not a great day in the life. This started out distinctively funky, tart and a little lacking in the stuffung department with a trace of metallic notes on the finish. After 30 minutes it began to prop itself up and another 30 minutes it began to fully emerge. Aromatic in that Fourrier way which I think pairs wonderfully with the vintage. Fresh and rich fruit that filled up the mid-palate nicely and evolved from richly red to sprightly sappy blacker qualities over the last hour. Beautiful mid-weight texture and soft tannins that suggest earlier term drinking is just fine. Very good indeed.
2007 Arlaud Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes: in contrast to the Fourrier this was en pointe straight out of the bottle. Lovely, rich aromatics that combine fruit and game in a seductive way. Speaks to the cooler nature of the site and vintage while it is not lacking for either ripeness or depth. Certianly no bruiser but certainly a lovely, lovely wine that is drinking very nicely right now. Well balanced enough to have a good 7-10 years worth of upside on it but not a problem to pull now.
2009 Jean Marc Millot Echezeaux: Certainly likeable. Is that a good thing to say? This is sort of the Louie Anderson of GC wines I have had in awhile. It’s big, it’s a bit sweet, it’s mostly playing it down the middle but it also has a little arsenal of dirty jokes to tell you that are pretty damn funny if not necessarily to everyone’s taste. This is well made Echezeaux with all the bells, whistles and trappings of the 2009 vintage. If Jim Jeffries is more your speed this is going to come off as a little corny and simple but if Rita Rudner makes you double over this will provide an extra level of entertainment. Personally, I’m a Jeffries sort of guy.
2007 Pernot Bienvenue-Batard Montrachet: I kind of dig it when GC whites are a little crazy for awhile after being opened. It’s usually a sign of good things to follow. Definitely a little pu-pu platter of oak and reduction for a good 5 hours of slo-ox. After about 20 minutes in the glass it resolved in an instant and became incredibly good. Lush BVB fruit and texture with the lift of acidity I expect from Pernot. Dances and dazzles providing hedonistic highs with a complex infrastructure. Densely aromatic by the end. Just a really terrific GC white that touches all the bases. Dynamite.