2001 DOMAINE COMTE GEORGES DE VOGÜÉ DINNER II - Jade Palace, Forum Galleria (22/1/2011)
Part II of a pair of dinners with Jean-Luc Pepin of de Vogüé, a mini-horizontal of the 2001 vintage this time, with the 1996 “Musigny blanc” and a 2002 Chambolle village making guest appearances. It was interesting to compare this with the 2006s we had last week.
I will go out on the limb to say that the quality across the board for the 2006s seems to be better than the 2001s, in spite of the wines here being a lot more open. The 2001 were all more or less marked by the vintage characteristics of high acid, pure, rather high-toned blue and black fruit, and little flecks of herbiness here and there. This made for some remarkably approachable and very enjoyable wines, where the terroir showed pretty well. However, as impressive as the 2001s were (and they were very much so), they seemed a little straightforward and austere when compared to the far more ebulient and generously shaped 2006s. More importantly, it seemed to me that the 2006 wines generally showed better integration and better raw material. While not quite as fresh as the 2001s, there was certainly no lack of balance or purity in those wines either. Perhaps the only wine that I preferred to the 2006 version was the Les Amoureuses. Here, the acid and structure of the 2001 vintage was a wonderful foil for the natural soft, seductiveness of the vineyard, somehow liftting it above its younger sister. Nevertheless, this was a wonderful dinner with a great line-up of wines that could easily grace any occasion.
BUBBLES TO START
-
N.V. Marguet Père et Fils Champagne Cuvée Réserve Brut - France, Champagne
Rather better than the last bottle I had. The nose for one thing was rather deeper and more expressive, with earthy, mushroomy notes, some rich yeast scents, all slightly savoury. The palate also showed more development than the last bottle. Here, I got lemons, kumquats and red apples along with a dose of earth. Not the most complex or refined, but it had a nice sense of strength across the mid-palate. There was a little touch of mineral at the finish riding alongside some cherry notes. I thought this was rather nice. Good QPR. (90 pts.)
THE MAIN EVENT
-
1996 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bourgogne Blanc - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
I enjoyed this. 1996 was not the easiest vintage, with several rounds of green harvesting being done, and it told on the wine. It was certainly not as good in terms of objective quality as the 2006 we had last week. However, there was much to like here. There nose was really attractive, with expansive notes of creamy oak mingling amidst white peppercorn scents, earth, white meat and some marl and mineral. Very nice. The palate was really superb on the attack. Very fresh, lively, with lovely lemony accents, honeyed pear flavours, a more savoury kumquat undertone beneath that, and a little earthy, minerally note. Lots of verve, dollops of mouth-watering acid and simply delicious flavours. Unfortunately, the wine absolutely nose-dives after the mid-palate into nothing finish. A solid top-end 1er Cru entry with a sudderingly mediocre exit I thought. With some time, a little linger of lemon sherbert started showing up at the end, but it still always rang just that bit hollow. A real pity, because the wine was well integrated and really delicious up to that point. All in all, I really enjoyed this, much more so than the more technically impressive 2006. If only that finish was not such a let-down! Drinking nicely now, I think it will continue to improve just that little bit in the next few years, but there certainly is not harm opening this up now. (91 pts.) -
2002 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
A very fine Chambolle village, if you could call it that. This is always priced at good 1er Cru levels, and the wine, which is mostly made from grapes in the Porlottes Lieu Dit, also has a healthy dose of 1er Les Baudes and Les Fuees in it, along with a smattering of very young (below 10 years old) Grand Cru Musigny vines. On the night, it showed a beautiful Chambolle nose, with a bed of lush dark fruit and sweet black cherry scents forming the backdrop for floaty spice and dark flowery notes. Some savoury sous bois and mushroom and a little herbiness completed the picture and made for a really complex bouquet. On the palate, I was struck by the clean, clear, almost aggresive acidity on the attack, a bit intimidating, especially for a 2002, but this was thankfully followed by some really nice, luscious fruit on the midpalate - black cherries and berries here - buttressed by a bit of spice and earth. After some time on the glass, a lot more savoury earth notes and some rose petal scents started emerging too. Plenty of dark-fruited substance here, yet it was more reserved than the rather new-wordly 2006 I tried a week ago, and a whole lot more complex. Finish was a little shortish, but that aside, this was a very nice village overall. I would advise having this with food - the aggressive acidity was somewhat tamed by the dishes we had, setting the wine in far better stead than when we first sipped it without accompaniament. Apart from that, this was very nice, and quite ready for drinking. (91 pts.) -
2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Better than the last bottle I had about a year back, but a far cry from the excellent 2006 from a week ago. The nose elicited a “wow” in my notes. Juicy cherry scents were met with some damp earth accents, a bit of incense, lots of florals, slightly dried flower petals I thought, and a nice truffly tone. All very perfumy, very Chambolle, almost intoxicatingly so. Lovely stuff. The palate was not that charming unfortunately. Nice flavour profile for sure, where rich, pure cherries and cranberries on the attack were followed by some dried flowers, a touch of dried earth, and just that hint of sweet Chinese herbs, ripe vine stems and a linger of oak on the long, melting finish. There was a slightly unnerving streak of black licrorice underlining all that, but overall a very delicious spectrum of flavours. This wine did not quite have the depth of the 2006, but the purity on the fruit was really impressive. My issue was the plentiful 2001 acidity here. Normally a good thing, but it was not quite integrated yet with this wine. Here, the strikingly pure fruit and stern acid seemed a little stand-offish, not entirely melding together, so that the wine was left hanging a little. Solid stuff, but it needs some time yet. Something to look up again in another 3-4 years. (93 pts.) -
2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
A ridiculously delicious wine - this was pure Les Amoureuses seductiveness. Gorgeous nose, with beautiful melting cherry and pomegranate scents, lovely flowery perfume, some earth and a touch of vanillin. A fine introduction for an equally gorgeous palate. The wine had such a deliciously juicy balance and such melting velvety goodness that one sip just drew another, and another, and another, as it filled the mouth with succulent flavours of red cherries, pomegrantes and a gentle floral note, all very open giving and generous. All that fleshy Les Amoureuses fruit wed to wonderful 2001 acidity, wonderful. And what a mouthfeel too - all silky and slinky with a lovely lightness of touch, yet with no lack of depth or concentration. Past the midpalate, the wine slid into a beautifully detailed finish with a subtle but insistent line of mineral that pulled away into the distance with hints of spice peeking out alongside. Here we have a Les Amoureuses that plays to the vineyard’s Grand Cru aspirations. The vintage characteristics certainly seems to have suited Vogüé’s interpretation of the terroir - it was one of the few wines that I thought had objectively more quality than its 2006 equivalent. Really great stuff, drinking beautifully now, but one does get the feel that it will continue improving with time. My favourite wine of the night by a whisker, just tipping the excellent Musigny VV. (94 pts.) -
2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
A very good wine, but neither as delicious as the last bottle I had nor as the incredibly impressive 2006 we drank last week. Still though, this was a very good Bonnes Mares chez Vogüé. As would be expected, the difference in terroir between this and the Les Amoureuses on the same flight was really distinct. Here, there was a really deep nose, with darker blueberry scents, abit of licorice root, some Chinese herbs and a nice dose of earth. Slightly more rustic, but with a lovely rich warmth to. Very inviting. The palate had that same open warmth of expression. Super fresh, very inviting, with high-toned, yet concentrated flavours of bluberries and blackcurrant at the fore. Again, this came across slightly darker and earthier, a bit less lacy and refined than the other wines on show, but that added to its charm rather than diminished it I thought. Perhaps just a bit straightforward at this point of time, but there was fine definition and balance, along with a nice sense of structure - this had a very nice feel to it. Everything was in the right place, including a long finish with plenty of depth - this wine only needs time to help unfold its semi-hidden character. A solid example. Check back again in 4-5 years’ time. (93 pts.) -
2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
An excellent wine. The Yang to the Les Amoureuses’ Ying, so very different, yet at the moment there was little to choose between them. While the Les Amoureuses was more sensual and seductive, the Musigny was still rather serious, tight, maybe brooding. And yet, there was a sense of structure and presence here that the Les Amoureuses did not have. It was certainly showing far, far better than the 2006 we had last week though. The nose here was a knockout. Earth and mineral at first, and then a wafting flower presence, subtle dark fruit scents sprinkled with some red fruited highlights, and some spicy accents at the edges, all integrated into perfumed whole that was so very Musigny in the way all the scents were tightly knotted together. Profound stuff - I could take deep whiffs of this all day long. The palate first struck me as being really fresh, with wonderful, pitch perfect balance. Even more so here than on any of the other wines on show I think - it was juicy, bright, delicious, inviting, yet all that was nicely inetgrated an woven into a palate that was layered with typical Musigny depths of red and dark fruits, so that the wine came across clean, transparent and pure, in spite of its gigantic amount of concentration. In fact, I found this rather ripe and extracted for 2001, but it was so balanced that the weight of the fruit never threatened to tip the wine into clumsiness or over-extraction. The finish was still tight, showing its youth, but had supreme length, where savoury earth, mineral and spice was seamless integrated with juicy bluberry fruit. Not exactly subtle, but this still had some the reticence one would expect on a young Musigny and should unfold nicely over time. However, it must be said that it was already showing remarkably well at merely 9 years of age. A beautiful wine that spoke eloquently of both the terroir and the vintage. (94 pts.)
A BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
-
1982 Twin Hill Pedro Ximénez - Australia, Western Australia, Greater Perth, Swan Valley
A remarkable wine. Not quite as polished as some of the great Australian fortifieds, but this was all soul and character, and about as delicious as you could expect a PX to be. The irony is that I brought this birth year wine to Domaine de Vogüé dinner to celebrate E’s birthday and, as wonderful as the Burgs were, this ended up being the most memorable wine of the night for me. This had a wonderful nose of liquered chocolates, dried figs, mahogany wood and all sorts of old tawny port-like scents. The viscous, creamily textured palate had a beautiful richness, with layers of deep, rich dark chocolate notes, dried figs, melted raisins deep rich, caramel, brazil nuts, dark cherries and a long, savoury tail, quite reminiscent of Jerez, with preserved figs and a mouthfill of Marsala spice. Wow. Palate-staining intensity, but well-balanced enough so that the 17.8% alcohol does not show - a joy to sip. Need to get my hands on another bottle of this little wonder. (95 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker