Monday Night Meatoaf-A night with some of Burgundy's Brightest!

WINE TALK
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Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a very special wine dinner featuring the winemakers and owners of some of the most prestigious estates in Burgundy. The dinner was at A Voce in the Time Warner Building (Columbus Circle for those non NYers reading).

First the food…With about 60 people in attendance, you could not ask for better food preparations. Whilst the water service was slow (did you note the use of ‘whilst’?), everything else was great. 17 wines poured, a new glass for every wine, you do the math…Some highlights were the Funghi al Forno…these mushrooms were rockin. And the veal tenderloin to close out the meal was “tender” and then some. Great job in the kitchen!

Onto the alcohol, err, the wines…

First Course (served with Bay Scallops)

  1. 2006 Christian Moreau Chablis Valmur: Our first btl was corked. Our second btl still had something wrong with it. I complained to Christian and he cried.
  2. 2005 Ch de Chamirey Mercurey Blanc La Mission: This wine had a very strange nose and a very oily texture in the mouth. I am generally not a fan of Mercurey Blanc and this wine did nothing to convince me otherwise.
  3. 2006 Ch Fuisse Pouilly Fuisse les Combettes: Wow, this wine was excellent. If anyone does not believe that the villages of Pouilly and Fuisse cannot make superb Chardonnay that can compete with the top villages, you need to drink more Ch Fuisse. Unfortunately, from a retailer standpoint, they are tough sells, but this wine was top notch.

Second Course (served with Fungi al Forno…Roasted trumpet royal mushrooms)

  1. 2006 Ch Genot Boulanger Puligny Montrachet Les Mosroyes: This wine was hitting on all cylinders. A nice creamy texture. Showed very well.
  2. 2006 Olivier Leflaive Chassgne Abbaye de Morgeot: This was nice. My notes say maybe too much oak, and a little obvious. By obvious, I meant “varietally correct.” It was good, just did not wow me.
  3. 2006 Ch de la Maltroye Chassagne Morgeot Vignes Blanches: I would love to try an older btl of this wine. The current releases are all excellent, but just too young. Painfully expensive as well

Third Course (Served with the largest piece of Pancetta I have ever seen on a plate)

  1. Potel Aviron Moulin a Vent VV Cuvee Exceptionelle: Slightly maderized. Not my cup of tea…or wine!
  2. 2006 Humbert Freres Gevrey Chambertin Poissenots: If memory serves, Geantet Pansiot is the only other producer of Poissenots these days. This is Humbert Freres finest wine. If you have never tried it, you need to. One of the stars of the night, this wine was a baby. Ripe, strawberry flavors with a great long finish. Well done!
  3. 2005 Dominique Gallois Gevrey Chambertin Goulots: Gosh, I was hoping this was going to shine. For whatever reason, the wine came off as tired and very uninspired.

Fourth Course (served with Squab)

  1. Ch de Chorey Beaune Teurons: Clearly out of the place in this flight, due to the style, this wine held its own. Funky, dirty and old school were some of my adjectives written down. I enjoyed this wine with the squab. Clearly a traditional producer (if you have never had anything from them) and quite good at it.
  2. 2006 Jacques Prieur Corton Bressandes: In Burgundy circles, Prieur is known for its heavy dose of oak, and its heavy price…well this wine did not disappoint on either. A very masculine wine, this wine needs time, and then…who knows?
  3. 2006 Alain Burguet Gevrey Chambertin Mes Favorites: Burguet takes his best parcels in Gevrey and produces this stuff each year. Before he sourced some Beze in 2004, this was the flagship wine, and to many, still is. The nose was very pretty, a nice flower bouquet. On the pallet, the wine was a little rough, however, based on my experience, I am not concerned about this wine. In a few years, this will be tasty, The stuffing was there.
  4. 2006 Meo Camuzet Clos Vougeot: As usual, this wine was a beast. I am never sure where Meo’s wines are headed, but I am always happy to sample them. This one will be quite nice…in 15 years.

Fifth Course (Veal Tenderloin)

  1. 2006 Domaine des Perdrix NSG Aux Perdrix: Another one with pricing that could use adjusting, I found this wine to be a bit metallic.
  2. 2006 Sylvain Cathiard NSG Murgers: I am really not sure that I have ever had a bad btl of wine from this producer. Big, rich and very “fleshy,” this is an outstanding effort.
  3. 2007 Lamarche Vosne Romanee Les Chaumes: Earlier in the day, I tasted about 6 Lamarche wines, and I thought the AC Vosne Romanee stood out. At dinner, this wine showed a bit too much sweetness for me. Nevertheless, this Domaine’s quality is rising fast.
  4. 2006 Rousseau Mazy Chambertin: Wowser! Just the right amount of sweetness, to go with the depth of fruit and tannins. Who knew this would show so well? I was happy to enjoy a second glass. Eric Rousseau announced that the Domaine purchased 0.40 hectares additionally in Chambertin for the 2009 vintage. Everyones allocation just doubled!

Thanks for reading!

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Sounds a fascinating tasting you attended, Daniel, many thanks for reporting it.

Cheers,
David.

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I’m sorry Dan, but your post offends me with how good it sounds.

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Nice notes Dan.

I have some experience with Cathiard wines from the late 80’s (I think the father made them) and they are not inspiring.

I like some Prieur wines but the prices are absurd. Aren’t they under the same family ownership as Perdrix?

Meo CDV is often great and underappreciated in Meo’s portfolio, while everyone goes gaga over the Vosnes. For me, the sleeper wine in his stable is the Corton Rognets.

Al Fenster

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Dan should be called “Big Boy” from now on. newhere neener

6

Thanks for the notes Dan.

I really enjoy the wines of Ch Fuisse as well, luckily they are poured at the Wildman tastings here. As are the Dom des Perdix. The 05s were very aromatic and showed lovely a year ago. Sucks about the 06s!

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I don’t know Dan… I think you all would have preferred the '34s… [training.gif]

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Al

I have never tried any older Cathiard than 1996, so I cannot comment, and the 96 Malconsorts that I did try was cooked and a leaker.

I am not sure if Perdrix and Prieur are the same owners.

I believe, that when I was in Burgundy in 1996, that I met the owners of both estates and they were separate back then.

Nick,

Next time, me and you, a slew of '34s!

No wine was wasted at this dinner, FYI.

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Mike,

I generally like Perdrix as well. This could have just been a bad taste. Maybe if I had spent weeks with the wine in my glass, it would have gotten better.

As for Fuisse, I just wish I would take the plunge and buy more.

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Daniel,

Thanks for sharing.

I went to a Burgundy tasting at Vinexpo last year and tried both Château de Pouilly and Château de Fuissé from Pouilly-Fuissé. The latter was markedly better. It’s a pity that it’s so expensive because I wanted to buy a few cases as a corporate Christmas gift. Still when seen from a quality-price ratio, it’s a pretty fair deal.

I visited Domaine Jacques Prieur last month and came away with a very fine impression, and the wines did not seem overoaked. I have their price list in front of me. Funny, the top wines and the entry-level wines are expensive, but the mid-range ones are fairly priced (example: Beaune Premier Cru at 26 euros for the 06 and 29 for the 07).

I also visited Domaine Henri Lamarche where we were very warmly received. Yes, this domaine is definitely coming up in the world. The winemaker is a young woman who is very timid and a bit odd, but she does good work, and that’s all that really counts :slight_smile:. She took over not long ago and I think we’ll be hearing more about her in the future.

Best regards,
Alex R.

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She was in the store on Monday. Very quiet (mostly because my French is nonexistent and her English is not so good). If Serge were here, they would have found other ways to communicate I am sure.

Anyways, I think she is 27 and took over the winemaking from her father.

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Sounds great Dan. Can you do me a favor and post the oldest RP scores on these wines? neener deadhorse

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David

Robert Parker was asked not to come back to Burgundy after he made up lies about producers switching samples on him.

Since then, he has constantly bashed the region. :slight_smile:

Except for Pierre Rovani’s Remoissenet wines now, of course.

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Daniel: whose plot of Chambertin did Rousseau buy?
alan

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  1. 2006 Humbert Freres Gevrey Chambertin Poissenots: If memory serves, Geantet Pansiot is the only other producer of Poissenots these days. This is Humbert Freres finest wine. If you have never tried it, you need to. One of the stars of the night, this wine was a baby. Ripe, strawberry flavors with a great long finish. Well done!


    You think Humbert’s Poissenots is better than the Charmes?
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Dan

For the money, the Poissenots is better than the Charmes.

Serge,

That is the marketing director, not the winemaker.