Had our annual doctors Burgundy lunch on Friday with the theme being Grand Cru Burgundy. The first and last wines served happened to be 1er Crus. They were also two of the very best wines of the day.
To kick off with the 2004 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain has some of the 04 green nettle but is an excellent wine none the less. There’s some butter and pure white peach and citrus. It has good line and finesse. The 2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Valmur showed some nutty oxidative notes on the nose. The palate is still piercing and intense. Seal these with screwcap please Fevre! It’s a f*cking waste of good wine to have a cork ruin it. The 2010 Domaine Maillard Père & Fils Corton Blanc Grand Cru has a pure fresh nose of lemon juice and white peach. It is fine, dense, linear and sappy. Flavours are fresh and direct and there’s a touch of wood spice. Lovely wine.
The first red served was the 1980 Lavigne Echezeaux Grand Cru. It was the best wine of the day in a pretty smart line-up. The nose was so engaging, smelling of fresh strawberries and earth. There were root vegetable notes and a little spice. It was so silky of texture and really built through the palate fanning off on the finish. The 2000 Geantet-Pansiot Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Quite tight for a 2000. Meaty and earthy with decent density. There’s ripe cherry fruit and some muscle on the palate. Length is good and it had just started to open up as the last drop was drained from my glass. A 1993 Philippe Livera Chapelle-Chambertin Domaine des Tilleuls Grand Cru had a core of sweet cherry fruit. There was plenty of earth and mineral with the grip of the vintage.
It wasn’t planned but we ended up with four bottles of Corton rouge at the table. The 1999 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley Grand Cru was deep of colour. It is dense, young, powerful and chewy with so much to give…in about 40 years’ time. The 1995 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley Grand Cru was meaty, sweet and floral. Chewy, deep and smoky. There are some liniment notes. It is definitely a boy, muscular and very Corton. 1990 Bertrand Ambroise Corton Le Rognet Grand Cru is dense, chunky, powerful and ripe. It has some coffee, fig, baked earth and raisins. It is loaded with tannins. It is a Claret drinkers Burg. A 1996 Clavelier Corton Grand Cru was corked (screwcap please).
Just as a Corton bracket eventuated so too did one of Clos Vougeot. A 2005 Jean-Claude Boisset Clos Vougeot Grand Cru had ripe, creamy, dense fruit. It was expressive with plenty in reserve. Sweet, spherical tannins carried the finish. The 2008 Daniel Rion Clos Vougeot Grand Cru was mid-weight and delicious Clos Vougeot. It has blue fruits back lit by electric acidity and nice balance and persistence. There’s a lingering earthiness to the wine. A 2009 Chanson Père et Fils Clos Vougeot Grand Cru was meaty, blocky, dense and chunky. It is showing some oak and needs time.
The final wine of the day was a beauty. The 1999 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques is beautifully composed. It has some freshly tilled earth and perfectly ripe cherry fruit. There are florals and it is silky against the gums. It is expansive, deep and long. It is seriously good and absolutely Grand Cru quality.
Cheers
Jeremy
