TN: 2007 Burgundies for Brodie and Raz

2007 BURGUNDIES FOR BRODIE AND RAZ - Wellington, New Zealand (7/19/2014)

Brodie and Raz were in town so a group of us got together at Mike and Cathy’s place and enjoyed a lovely meal of risotto, Terakihi and venison, finishing with Époisses and aged Comté.

Mike and Cathy are leading a 2007 red Burgundies tasting next week, so that was a theme of the wines we brought. Also, Brodie and I had been discussing the merits of top NZ Syrahs versus Northern Rhone (TN: A leading NZ syrah ... - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers), so were keen to compare a couple.

All wines were served blind except the Homage.

We started with …

  • 1996 Duval-Leroy Champagne Brut Millésimé - France, Champagne
    Colour light gold. A fresh nose of green apple, greengage, wet stone, white pear, with some blanched nuts and a little almond brioche. In the mouth, this Champagne is right in the zone now. It has good freshness with bright acidity, flavours of green apple, lemon, pears, with some blanched almonds and minerals on back palate.
  • 2007 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Cote de Bouguerots - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
    Pale colour. A classic Chablis nose of lemons, pear, white peach, chalk, limestone and crushed rock, with quite strong salinity. On palate, clearly serious Grand Cru volume and power, I picked this as 2007. Real drive and energy. Drinking very well now, right at its peak. A pure, complex and detailed flavour profile of pears, lemon, crushed granite and other minerals, with marine salinity. I thought this was an excellent Bougros, with beautiful balance including in the elevage and acids. Some however thought it was resting a little too much on its acids.
  • 2008 Domaine Francois Servin Chablis Grand Cru Bougros - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
    Pale lemon. Aromas of limes, lemons, green apples, granite and minerals. Quite a primary nose. On palate, the acid profile was much more prominent, blind you could not see any link with the Fèvre Bougros. Seeming very primary, quite rich, the acids perhaps a little aggressive. Serious structure, scale and power on this wine, but lacking the elegance and balance of the Fèvre. Perhaps give this wine 2-3 years.

Then to three 2007 Burgundies …

  • 2007 Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
    Deep red colour. A very pretty, delicate, floral nose, making me think of Chambolle. Also notes of red berries, particularly raspberries and red cherries and a little spice. Rauno detected a little VA lift. On palate, a silky mouthfeel has us suggesting Chambolle or Vosne and not, at all, Gevrey. A little below medium bodied but clearly Grand Cru structure and power. Quite detailed flavour profile including red berries, chalk and minerals, iodine etc, light but not, to me, in any way underripe. I thought that the acids were not over-prominent but again it was commented that this wine was perhaps resting on its acids. Drinking very well now, but probably not for long-term cellaring (5-8 years?).
  • 2007 Domaine Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
    A very light cherry colour. And what a nose! All chalk, flint and minerals, with notes of cranberry, raspberries and red currants. Very pure. In the mouth, for me, this was an epiphany wine. The flavours were a mixture of delicate red berries and piercing chalk, limestone, granite and other crushed rocks and minerals. Perfectly ripe with Grand Cru structure and power, but very light on its feet. Beautifully balanced and focused. Approachable now but there is no hurry to drink this. Mike said this was the best Fourrier Griotte he had ever had. WoTN (in tough competition) and one of my WoTYs (thanks Nick).
  • 2007 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
    Deep garnet colour. A totally different nose again. Much more expressive and more typical Gevrey than the other two Gevreys in the flight. Aromas of red and black cherries, Asian spices, warm earth and smokey, bloodied barbequed game meat with some sauvage. The Mazis looked the most primary of the three wines and was described by Nick as a bit of an ugly duckling. Serious, palate staining fruit weight, packed with ripe fruit, and power. The wine was slow-oed for four hours before tasting but this wine probably needed more decanting. It opened appreciably in the glass over the dinner. An excellent Gevrey Grand Cru with flavours of red and black cherries, spices, warm earth and bloody meat. Sympathetic elevage with sweet, fine grained tannins and acids in balance. Approachable now, it’s not at all shut down, but I’d wait 5+ years before opening another.

Two whites with the fish course …

  • 2010 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
    Pale gold. A rich, ripe bouquet of vanilla bean, almonds, lemon, pear and some lactic aromas. The toasty oak component is quite obvious here. This is hedonistic, with more weight and less complexity and focus than the Combettes. It was a primary, large scaled Chardonnay with plenty of fruit, that was suggested as being a bit too broad and lacking acid. I put this down to the youth of the wine, which might develop more detail and nuance once it sheds its baby fat.
  • 2006 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
    Light gold. A lovely bouquet of pears, nuts, white flowers, lemons and minerals, with a touch of almond croissant. This is classy, right in the zone and fully ready now. Beautiful fruit weight, good acidity and lovely tension and balance. Citric flavours, with nuts and minerals, quite detailed. An excellent Combettes.

Then Rauno’s Burgundy with the two Rhone-styled wines …

  • 1996 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
    Deep red colour. An attractive bouquet of spice, earth, dry underbrush, red and black cherries and a touch of tobacco leaf. Superb on palate, I’m guessing this wine is from the mid 2000s, but with this profile of acids, 1996 is not too much of a surprise. The flavours are spice and dusty earth, and dried and fresh cherries and raspberries, just beginning to open up. With time in the glass it opens more, drinking beautifully, at one moment spicy, the next savoury. Detailed and complex. Sappy, serious fruit weight, structure and length. The acids and the tannins are now well integrated, but ideally I’d still give this wine 3+ more years cellar time.
  • 2006 Trinity Hill Syrah Homage - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay
    Served non-blind beside the Clape Cornas. Nose saturated with dark berries - black cherries, blackberries etc - with notes of dark chocolate, some black pepper and cherry cola. A fairly sweet bouquet, showing quite a lot of oak spices. In the mouth the Homage seemed very primary, showing a hint of residual sugar. The flavours were black fruits, dark chocolate and little espresso. A good, well made wine, but seeming to me a little too ‘generic’. Powerful with serious structure and good length, but lacking the complex flavour profile of the Clape. I would hold this wine for at least five years. If you do open a bottle, give it plenty of oxygen, it opened appreciably in the glass after 10 pm (after being originally opened at 4 pm). Syrah 91%, Viognier 9%, 14.4% alc, I understand 100% new French oak.
  • 1998 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
    Brought by Brodie to compare with my Homage. Deep, fairly primary red. Expressive aromatics of warm clay, black olives, spices, dry brushwood, old spicy plums and game meats. The nose blossomed with a couple of hours in the glass. Very primary on the palate, I guessed it was a 2007 Hermitage. Real structure, dry extract and power here, with good length. A really complex and interesting flavour profile of spices, warm clay, underbrush, bloody meat and rusty iron around a core of mainly red berry fruits. There was an interesting astringency of the tannins, and some rusticity, suggesting that ideally this wine should be given another five years. Decant thoroughly if you open now.

And to finish …

  • 2007 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair La Romanée - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Romanée Grand Cru
    Light red colour. Popped and poured, it took some time for this wine’s bouquet to blossom. I detected aromas of tar, black spices, warm earth, black and red cherries and chalky minerals, also some charry oak. On the palate, the purity, elegance and finesse of the wine were the first things to strike me. My guess was that the wine was a 2007 Vosne and even though it was not much more than medium weight, its Grand Cru gravitas and class were obvious. Real energy, precision and balance, the flavour profile very detailed including red cherries, raspberries, wet river stones, limestone and other minerals. At this young age, some oak needs to integrate. Incredibly suave, fine grained tannins. All class. Mike said that it was better than the 2006. (Thanks very much Mike).

Thanks to our hosts and attendees for an excellent evening!

Posted from CellarTracker

Hi Howard,

I like your flights but I think I ended up with 7 glasses going at the same time. Of the whites the Sauzet I thought brilliant, I have not been a great fan of 06’s but this was singing - no oxidation and powerful with classic flavour profile - thanks Rauno.
The Fourrier Griotte was the best I have had of this climat. What stood out were the Musigny like tannins, something rare and not often seen in Gevreys - thanks Nick
The La Romanee was seriously powerful with a never ending finish but in an understated way leaning toward RC rather than La Tache. We need to do a horizontal of these one day.
The 98 Clape was brilliant, Brodie brought this but I have it and the 99 and 2000 in the cellar. Not sure why this wine does not get more recognition…
1996 Armand Epeneaux was another great wine and showed more primary than the 07’s other than the La Romanee. I remember drinking this on release when it was almost undrinkable. Now it is a beauty and just starting its life - another of Rauno’s
Also the Rhys was a gift from Kevin which Brodie brought back. Thanks Kevin, I have one more…
Cheers Mike

Here’s an iPhone photo, 1996 and Rhones ‘flight’ in front, 2007 Burgs behind, Chards partially obscured …
image.jpg

And amen to that Mike.

Great notes Howard. I liked the Fevre a good deal better than the Servin, though agree the latter can use more time. The Sauzet was great, just what it should be. I found the flight of three '07s difficult to assess and each of the wines changed a lot in the glass. At first the CdB put me off with some VA, and the Griotte was the best glass to drink with the Mazis quite gnarly and grumpy. But the CdB came right later, and of course the Mazis opened up. The Griotte had a lovely texture throughout. For me, the La Romanee poured later was a step up in terms of purity and expression - it was perfectly clean (cf the other three), more detailed, elegant and persistent. It was the wine I could still taste (in a good way!) the next day. The Clape was also great and my first reaction after burgundies was to peg it as 12 years younger (oops) - great structure and loads in reserve. Thanks all.

Nice work guys.

Howard,

Thanks for posting your notes from an excellent evening. Some really top notch wines. A few random thoughts

The Sauzet was in great shape and drinking really well. The Fevre was also very good with the Servin the weakest of the whites (but still a good wine just suffered in comparison)

The trio of 2007 reds was fascinating, such different wines. The Drouhin Larose CdB was open and red fruited and delicious. The Fourrier Griottes was marvelous with great tannins and lovely balance and the Faiveley Mazis was a youthful tannic brute by comparison. All three from Gevrey Chambertin but such different styles of wines. None of us thought they were from the same village initally. The reveal was “revealing” you could say…

The Hommage vs Clape comparison was very illustrative. The Hommage was a well made attractive wine but was rather two dimensional compared to the Clape. The 1998 Clape Cornas was a treat and a lovely example of Nth Rhone syrah with meaty notes and lots of structure and power and depth, early maturity for me but lots left in the tank.

The 1996 Comte Armand Clos Epeneaux was drinking perfectly. Open for business with lots a dark red fruits and spice and earth. Was showing some maturity and balance with the tannins noticeable but well integrated. Held its own well with the two syrahs in the flight.

The 2007 Ligier Belair La Romanee was on an entirely higher level. A genuinely great wine with a wonderful presence and style. The most refined tannins and real depth of fruit and a long lingering finish. A memorable wine and a honour to taste it.

All wines showed well and thanks to Mike and Cathy for being wonderful hosts.

Cheers
Brodie

Wow, thanks for the great write up of a great night. Glad to see you all getting back home and hanging with Mike and Cathy, Brodie.

I am very much enjoying my 07s now (added bonus of a wedding year for us), but have not delved deep into GC land as of yet. I am glad everything showed so well. Hope you have a good rest of your year.

Best,

Thanks guys a great report and some dreamwines → La Romanée …

Hi Howard
Great notes and thanks to all for your contributions. A great dinner from Cathy and Mike, thanks for that too as the food and wine matching was excellent.

Couldn’t add anything further to the wine comments. My WOTN were the Sauzet Combettes, the Fourrier Griotte and the LB La Romanee. I agree that the latter was deeper and more complex than the Griotte. While I thought the LR was, for me, quite oaky, this didn’t detract from the wonderful elegant statement this wine made.

FWIW while these 07’s were drinking beautifully, they were all young and in need of time in the cellar.

Brodie, lovely to see you and Raz back home, well, at least it will be in 11 months time!

Kind regards

Nick

great to see you finished the night off with a cheapie - cough cough - I have only had La Romanee out of barrel and it is seriously great .

Michel, and they are getting better! I was taking Rauno on a cellar tour and came across it. When he mentioned it was a wine he had not had, that was my excuse… Cheers Mike