An insane 24 hours filled with loads of great Burgundy. Great to meet a few out of towners too, and hope to see you guys here in Chicago again soon!
DINNER AT RPM - Chicago, IL (5/16/2014)
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2007 Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Les Barres - France, Champagne
Funky and mushroomy in a way that only pinot meunier can achieve. A slight hint of sweetness but lots and lots of baked apple flavours. Fresh, lively, and totally delicious. (93 pts.) -
1976 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Golden colour – I remarked that it looked like a bottle of young Sauternes. Tasted like it too, sans sucre. Amazing acidity and some of that orange peel marmalade flavour you get from Sauternes. An excellent bottle. (90 pts.) -
1996 Domaine Laroche Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot Réserve de l’Obédience - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Quite a revelation. This was very rich and full on the palate but never oily or greasy or fat. Still had plenty of stone fruit flavours and racy acidity that can only be Chablis. (93 pts.) -
2002 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
Another one of those high-sulphur white Burgundies. This was so damn good. A huge frame with broad, broad shoulders, lots of opulent ripe fruit and tons of concentration without ever being exaggerated. This is what chardonnay’s all about! (95 pts.) -
2004 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
Greener and less sulphur than its older brother, this comes complete with the delicious green raciness that typifies the '04 white Burgundies I’ve tried. The fruit veers a bit towards green apples. This would be outstanding on its own, but sadly, was overshadowed by the far more extroverted 2002. (93 pts.) -
1999 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
To me, this was quite a closed bottle. Insane nose of matchstick, sulphur, and all that stuff – perhaps one of the most sulphured wines I’ve had, and I drink a lot of Pruem! The palate wasn’t very forthcoming either, but I detected some tropical fruit flavours waiting to emerge. (90 pts.) -
1996 Domaine Truchot-Martin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Sentiers - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Corked. NR (flawed) -
1999 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Very young and light on its feet, with lots of ripe (but tart) red fruit on the nose. Lovely red cherry flavours but this feels like it’s still in the process of shedding its youth… it’ll need plenty of time to come around. (90 pts.) -
1999 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
This was so incredibly good. There was a very musky, meaty nose that bordered on pheromonic (not a word, I know) that was just so alluring, and the palate completely delivered on that promise. This has hit the prime drinking window right now, with the funky earth flavours on the palate balancing just right with the remains of the fruit. (95 pts.) -
1985 Mommessin Clos de Tart - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de Tart Grand Cru
This had a very, very big nose with tons of fresh red fruit still showing through. The nose was alluring but just enough to titillate. The palate however, was somewhat brutish – big and bold red fruit that didn’t seem to match the nose, making this feel a bit disjoint. (90 pts.) -
1993 Domaine Leroy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Oh boy, Madame does it again. An archetypical intense Leroy nose is combined with an earthy funk that captures Nuits so well. Lots of fresh red fruit on the palate still, with that earthiness showing up again all held together by a very restrained vein of acidity. A very pretty bottle of Leroy. (93 pts.) -
2001 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Wow, is this, like 200% new oak? Definitely the oak was prominent here, but it integrates so well with the lack of stems and late picking that it’s never obtrusive. Loads of ripe black and red fruit on the palate. This is classic Meo, dark and rich and svelte and voluptuous. (93 pts.) -
1998 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Wow, oak. A lot of stewed character here, and at first I thought this was a slightly cooked bottle. On the other hand, you can see how much power there is trapped inside. But at this moment, it doesn’t really smell like anything nor does it taste like anything. I will keep half the bottle in the fridge overnight, and revisit this tomorrow morning. Retasting this wine the next day, it’s clear that there’s something very, very wrong with this bottle. Hot, disjointed, and stripped of fruit. Down the sink it goes. NR (flawed)
HDH BURGUNDY AUCTION - Chicago, IL (5/17/2014)
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NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée - France, Champagne
Very, very aromatic today – I could smell this from a flute two feet away. Quite chewy and sinewy today and a very apple-cider-like quality. Medium-long finish. (93 pts.) -
1988 Laurent-Perrier Champagne Grand Siècle - France, Champagne
Slightly cheesy and funky on the nose – I’m guessing that this is a predominantly pinot noir assemblage. The palate seems to be in a bit of an awkward place for me. Certainly a very yeasty and bready bottle of Champagne. (88 pts.) -
2002 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Quite a good whiff of sulphur on the nose. The palate is very intense with lots of tart citrus. Tons of power – this is a great bottle of Meursault. (93 pts.) -
1985 Joseph Drouhin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Moderately advanced golden colour with a lot of stewed fruit on the nose. This is surprisingly intense and fresh, despite its age. Lots of ripe citrus and stewed fruit, but lots of acidity. Showing extremely well at the moment. (93 pts.) -
2011 Benjamin Leroux Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Initially I thought this was a bit closed, but opening up, I get a lot of tropic fruit and coconut. This is a wine of gigantic proportions with lots of fruit and acidity. (90 pts.) -
2006 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
A totally spot on bottle, after having learned my lesson from my experience a month ago. Decanted this at 9am in the morning and it was good to go by lunch time. This was showing a very rounded nose with lots of black fruit and brown spice with a palate that matched the aroma profile perfectly. This was everything that you’d expect and want from a bottle of Dujac. Awesome. (95 pts.) -
2008 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
Very light in colour. So, so pretty. A very clear influence of stems on both the nose and the palate. A completely seamless bottle of wine from the nose to the palate to the finish. Lots of juicy but sour red fruit – currants and cherries. Have I mentioned that this is pretty? (95 pts.) -
2001 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Again a very, very pretty wine. With a bit of air, a lot of brown spice and coffee starts to show up. The palate is very light and dances with a kaleidoscope of red fruit. Stunning. (93 pts.) -
1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault-Blochet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Bottle 3634. Very, very tight at the moment. Lots of dark fruit and juice. A lot of spice and juicy black fruit. Very juicy on the palate as well. The tannins are still a bit chewy. Very good. (93 pts.) -
1988 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
So closed right now but this really can’t be unexpected. Lots of acidity and tannin and totally not giving anything else right now, even after a few hours. Needs many, many more years. (90 pts.) -
2005 Domaine Truchot-Martin Bourgogne - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Definitely not a simple Bourgogne rouge. A lot of licorice and red fruit on the palate and tons of juicy red fruit acidity. (90 pts.) -
2004 Domaine Truchot-Martin Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos Sorbes Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
So I’m not totally sure what to make of this creature. When it was first poured, there was a woody quality to the nose as opposed to anything green. It was beautifully floral and very attractive. Left it in the glass for an hour and it morphed into something pretty bad… just stemmy and woody and everything nice about it was gone. -
1996 Domaine Francois Lamarche Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Very ripe and powerful with quite some spice on the nose. The palate is a bit austere and doesn’t quite match the rich nose – perhaps a little thin and acidic? (90 pts.) -
2002 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Tons of black fruit on the nose. Ripe and spicy. Very big and definitely showing some oak. Lots of acidity to keep this from going overboard, but this is not quite my style. With a bit more time, the fruit began to dry out, which left this very huge husk of a wine. (88 pts.) -
2010 Remoissenet Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Oak everywhere. Not my thing. (80 pts.) -
2010 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Very pale in colour. A moderately sulphured nose with a lot of juicy tropical fruit and a huge hit of popcorn, both on the palate and nose. Very intense and concentrated, with some pears and peaches and a powerful vein of citrus-inflected acidity. (95 pts.) -
2002 Domaine Leroy Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
A very concentrated Leroy-esque nose. Intense, with lots of fruit and earth. The palate is a bit closed, but definitely powerful and showing a lot of red fruit and acidity at the moment. (93 pts.) -
1996 Domaine Leroy Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
The nose was very dirty and filthy and not showing much else, while the palate was thin, angular, acidic and just downright disappointing. Something was clearly wrong with this bottle. -
2012 Charles Van Canneyt Charmes-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
This is a very young wine, no doubt. A little bit of vanilla and tons of juicy ripe red fruit. However, the palate is just too young right now. Though this doesn’t show any of that new wine smell, it has a ton of juicy young red fruit and a lot of extract. This is so yummy… (93 pts.) -
1988 Domaine Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
Clear stems on the nose, but this is just spectacular with a very prominent mushroom quality to it. The palate is very rich and umami and not austere at all, with tons of concentration. Showing very well now. (93 pts.) -
2003 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
What a beast. This is just a behemoth of a wine right now, which shouldn’t be surprising. Not too much acidity, though there’s lots of bright red fruit. But the thing that sticks out most prominently is that it’s big. Very big. Godzilla-size. (93 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker