This afternoon we were participants in a tasting of 2005 Morey St. Denis put on by Casa del Vino at El Norteño in Albuquerque. It was an interesting and delightful tasting. We started with Ponsot’s 1er Cru Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc Vielles Vignes - Probably the best and most forward of any young Monts Luisants that I’ve had; now it’s made from 100% Aligoté. It was an amazingly rich, almost oily, fruity wine with a very long rich fruit finish. Then on to the reds, which we poured through our Vinturi into Riedel Sommelier Grande Bourgognes. We did this to help open the nose and flavors of the young red Burgundies.
The first flight was village wines from Forey Père et Fils, Lucie et Augeste Lignier, and Michel Magnien. The Forey was the best of the flight for me - bright, crisp red fruit, good balance and acidity, and a long fruity finish. The Lignier was rich red fruit, with a slight sharpness in the mid-palate, and a medium long fruity finish. The Magnien was rich darker fruit, balanced mid-palate with a bit of aggressive oak, and a long oaky fruit finish.
Second flight consisted of two village wines ‘en la Rue de Vergy’ from Virgile Lignier and Lignier-Michelot and a 1er Cru ‘Faconnières’ from Jean-Paul et Stéphane Magnien. The Lignier was light, soft red fruit; soft and balanced mid-palate; and a medium long soft fruit finish. The Lignier-Michelot was harder, more rustic red fruit, slightly harsh mid-palate, with a medium long hard fruit finish. It was my favorite of the flight for this tasting. The 1er Cru was medium spicy red fruit, balanced, slightly oaky mid-palate; and a medium long oaky fruit finish.
Third flight was three 1er Crus from different vineyards - Charmes from Tortochot, Cheseaux from Arlaud Père et Fils, and Clos des Ormes from Georges Lignier. The Charmes was good red fruit, slightly disjoint mid-palate, with a medium long finish. The Cheseaux was my favorite of the flight - with rich, spicy red fruit, balanced mid-palate, and a long spicy fruit finish. The Clos des Ormes was darker fruit, slightly disjoint mid-palate; and a medium long fruity finish.
The last flight was three 1er Crus from ‘La Riotte - vielles vignes’ - by Olivier Jouan, Taupenot-Merme, and Henri Perrot-Minot. This was overall the best flight; they were all similar, with the Jouan the lightest and the Perrot-Minot the biggest and richest. All had rich dark fruit, some oak, and long finishes.
It was an enlightening and interesting tasting from one of my favorite communes in Burgundy. The 2005 vintage seems to be very reminiscent of the 1959 vintage with its early approachability.