Got together this past week with friends in SF for a Les Suchots Burgundy Dinner. All wines were served pop and pour as well as double blind, except of course, each individual knowing what they brought. The wines are sorted in order of personal preference by flight and were ranked prior to reveal.
Pre Dinner White Wine:
2008 Henri Darnat Meursault 1er Cru Clos Richemont Monopole - A little disjointed, high acidity, some funk on the finish and a lemon citrus palate. Did not find the wine particularly exciting, just ok, served more as a curiosity than anything.
Pre-2000 Les Suchots Flight:
1985 Domaine Robert Arnoux Les Suchots - Rustic, cherry, definitely aged, light body, more toned down style, but excellent overall balance. Mineral, earth, and very good structure. Really enjoyed the wine, considered it best in the flight, an example of elegance showing better than power.
1996 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County - Rose petal, barrel sample like, tart red fruits and plum. After tasting the first and last wine in the flight, it was clear this wine was not Les Suchots. Pre reveal, the group guessed the ringer correctly as first, from California, and second, as Williams Selyem!
1988 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Les Suchots - Wet saddle leather, some sherry, stale fruit, a little funky, and tart. Despite it being from an excellent Burgundy vintage, did not think this bottle showed particularly well.
Post-2000 Les Suchots Flight:
2000 Louis Jadot Les Suchots -As one guest accurately put it, “the wine of the flight by a long shot!” Agree, initially young, spicy and balanced, put on weight and got fatter in time, nuanced rich red fruit, game, earth and mint, an excellent complete wine.
2000 Domaine Robert Arnoux Les Suchots - An exotic, rich, powerful wine that was meaty and had plenty of pleasant raspberry fruit on the palate. Acidity was pretty firm in this wine, and remained consistent after revisiting it several times through the evening.
2001 Domaine Robert Arnoux Les Suchots - Gamey, funky and barnyard in a good way, more raspberry fruit. Went back and forth as to which I preferred better, the 2000 vs 2001, in the end, thought the 2000 held up slightly better as it sat in the glass. The overall group thought this wine was superior to the 2000 Arnoux.
1998 Domaine Robert Arnoux Les Suchots - Green and grassy, lean and a little funky, the wine got better in time, but never quite hit its stride. Was pretty surprised on reveal to see a 1998 Arnoux, would have expected a far better showing.
Post Dinner Dessert Wine:
2006 Baton Charles Heintz Vineyard Late Harvest Chardonnay - Pleasant, sweet and honey, not a lot of complexity at this young age, but a nice end of meal wine.
In the case of all the Les Suchots, particularly the post 2000 wines, could taste enough commonality to know they were Les Suchots, yet enough contrast among the vintages to make the tasting interesting.
A very good time . . . ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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