BURGUNDY & RHÔNE-tasting in Graz/Austria
Last weekend I organized a tasting of 12 red Burgundies and 12 red Rhônes each. The idea was to taste „comparable“ wines (whatever that is) of the same or similar vintages … I also found it interesting to see how easy it is to spot the origin and age of the particular wines … and eventually whether Burgs or Rhones were „better“ (or at least the favorites among the group, most of them experienced tasters).
The were 19 tasters (incl. 5 couples sharing glasses).
After each flight we voted for the best wine (2 points) and the 2nd best wine (1 point) – the added points (not to be confused with points/100) are given in the order of the wines.
In between an excellent 4 course menu was served … at Restaurant LAUFKE in Graz (heavily recommended).
My notes are necessarily quite short.
The wines have been opened 5-6 h in advance (except one wine: 11 hours)… and decanted 10-15 minutes before serving. Vintages 1988-2011.
1st flight:
1) 2005 Dom. ARNOUX(-LACHAUX): Nuits-St-Georges „Les Poisets“ (Village):
dark ruby, fragrant nose, still a bit structured, accessable, plummy
2) 2008 Domaine CHARVIN: Châteauneuf-du-Pape:
medium full, good grip, mouthfilling, very nice for the vintage
3) 2008 Dom. Reyane & Pascal BOULEY: Volnay „Champans“ 1er Cru:
bright ruby, acidity showing, but quite balanced, fine, but a bit light
3) 2004 Clos SAIN-JEAN: Châteauneuf-du-Pape:
fullest colour, in the nose lots of raspberries, modern, but lively and satisfying
group´s voting: 16/14/3/18, so Clos St.Jean, then Arnoux - my fav. was 2), then 1)
1st course: confitted paprika, citrus mayonnaise, char caviar, salad
2nd flight:
5) 1995 Domaine CLOS DES PAPES: Châteauneuf-du-Pape:
full bright red, sweet mature fruit, long and persistent
6) 1995 Dom. MONTILLE: Volnay „Mitans“ 1er Cru:
brighter, but still structured, masculine and still a bit tannic, dry edge
7) 1988 Domaine Philippe LECLERC: Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru „Combe aux Moines“:
eventually kind of mature, leathery, good inner core, long
8) 1988 Maison VIDAL-FLEURY (Ampuis): Côte-Rôtie:
bright transparent, lively acidity, spicy, excellent with the food, but might have been better a few years ago
group´s voting: 21/3/17/11, so Clos des Papes, then Leclerc - my fav. were also 5), then 7)
2nd course: carp from Domaine Dornau, celery, apple, buttermilk
3rd flight:
9) 2010 Dom. Sylvain CATHIARD (VR): Vosne-Romanée (Village):
medium ruby, quite soft, a bit lactic, good acidity, balanced
10) 2011 Dom. CONFURON-GINDRE (VR): Echezeaux Grand Cru:
quite dark and full, sweet tannins, tight, slightly dry finish, too young
11) 2010 Domaine René ROSTAING (Ampuis): Côte-Rôtie „Ampodium“:
full medium red, spicy, meaty, long and elegant
12) 2011 Domaine BARROCHE: Châteauneuf-du-Pape „PURE“ (100% Grenache):
very full and dark, velvety, sweet Grenache fruit, yes: modern, but great and very satifying
group´s voting: 18/20/3/16, so Confuron-Gindre, then Cathiard - my fav. was 12), then 11) … the Rostaing got beaten below its value
4th flight:
13) 1997 Dom. Georges MUGNERET(-GIBOURG) (VR): Clos Vougeot Grand Cru:
full red with orange rim, nose first a bit neutral, strong palate, expansive, but not really „singing“
14) 2001 Domaine de MARCOUX: Châteauneuf-du-Pape:
full with sweet fruit, a bit animalic, complex, elegant, chewy
15) 1997 Domaine J.L.Chave (Mauves): Hermitage:
the 1st bottle was heavily corked, I opened another one (my last), fully mature, developed further with air, great inner core, very elegant and complex
16) 2001 Domaine MAGNIEN (MSD): Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru:
medium dark red, sour cherries, strong and long, early maturity, minerally,
group´s voting: 14/20/6/15, so Marcoux, then Magnien - my favorite was clearly Chave, which needed time due to taken freshly from a case), then Magnien … a pity that the 1st bottle of Chave was off. 10 minutes later several preferred the Chave.
3rd course: saddle of deer from Western Styria, potatoes, long Neapolitan pumkin, juniper (a pic of this course follows later)
5th flight:
17) 1993 Maison MOILLARD (NSG): Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru:
the first opened Moillard/Corton Clos du Roi 1993 was corked, this substitute was really old school „fine“, fully mature, but slightly dry in the finish
18) 1993 Dom. Jean-Marc BOILLOT: Pommard „Rugiens“ 1er Cru:
quite full, the typical 1993s narrowness in the expression, not enormously complex, but very good
19) 1998 Domaine Michel & Stephane OGIER (Ampuis): Côte-Rôtie:
very lively and elegant, earthy with hints of black olives, very interesting both in the nose and on the palate, a treat
20) 1993 Domaine Jean-Paul VERSINO/Bois de Boursan: Châteauneuf-du-Pape:
the darkest, still saturated, positively traditional, excellent bite, tight, sweet, long
group´s voting: 4/17/20/11, so Ogier, then Boillot - my fav. was Ogier, then Versino (which is labelled as „Bois de Boursan“ in the export market, different labels, the same wine)
6th flight:
21) 2004 Dom. Jacques-Frederic MUGNIER: Nuits-St-Georges „Clos de la Marechale“ 1er Cru (Monopole):
bright red with hints of brown and orange, fully mature (looked some years older), the green meanies have been almost fully integrated, this was very nice to drink, if not really outstanding
22) 2005 Domaine Clos du MONT-OLVET: Châteauneuf-du-Pape:
full but transparent colour, nice grip, one of the most elegant CdPs, nice balance, long
23) 2003 Dom. Jean-Jacques CONFURON (NSG): Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru:
still dark ruby, nothing „hot“ about it, plummy, but elegant and very accessable, still with potential, really fine
24) 2004 Château DES TOURS (Sarrans): Vacqueyras:
(open 11 h), full orange red, sweet forthcoming cherry fruit with orange peel, tight and long, complex and mouthfilling, not only a slight resemblance to Rayas
group´s voting: 6/5/30/16, so Confuron, then Vacqueyras - my fav. was the Vacqueyras, then Confuron, but I also loved the Mont-Olivet – and Mugnier was not bad either.
7th) dessert wines (3 brought by participants, one by me):
25) 2015 Riesling Kabinett Marienburg – Clemens Busch/Mosel (Germany) 7.5% :
typical Mosel Kabinett, nice, went well with the dessert
26) 2017 Welschriesling Beerenauslese (BA) – Weingut Tschida/Angerhof (Neusiedlersee/Austria) 8% :
sweet, but quite bright and light, might improve with time
27) 2007 Welschriesling Beerenauslese (BA) – Weingut Just/Rust (Neusiedlersee/Austria) 12.5% :
deeper and more interesting, not too sticky, perfect with the dessert
28) 1991 Banyuls L´Etoile – Cave Coop Banyuls (France):
fully mature „rusty“ colour, raisiny, very nice and really complex, but not ideal with the dessert
dessert course: Litchi/Matcha cream/buckwheat/ginger
Feel free to comment … (coming later a few pics … and a resumé …)
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