TN: Burgundy dinner (very long)

WINE TALK
1

Last night we had a Burgundy-themed dinner at Bistro LQ in Los Angeles. For the most part, the wines were served non-blind, and were pop and pour. Overall, the wines were very good, with no prem-ox and no major TCA:

  1. NV Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Brut. Lots of yeast and creamy/apple notes throughout. Very crisp midpalate, with a touch of pear as well. Not incredibly complex, but delicious and a good food Champagne—a strong “yum plus.” Nice with the amuse, which was unagi.

Whites

  1. 1990 Robert Ampeau Meursault Les Perrieres. Nose of nuts, vanilla, and a bit of white fruits. The taste follows the nose, with a very smooth, rounded texture. It picked up a bit with about 20-30 minutes in the glass, adding some slight orange marmalade qualities. Clearly the best wine in the first flight, and a “wow” for me.

  2. 1992 Verget Meursault Les Genevrieres. A more apple/pear wine, with nice minerality. A bit stronger midpalate acidity than the rounder Ampeau, with some sage or herb notes emerging with aeration. Another “wow” and just a hair behind the Ampeau.

  3. 1999 Dom. Roulot Meursault Charmes. A much lighter yellow color than the two previous wines. Unfortunately, it had a VERY heavy dose of sulphur that permeated both the nose and the taste. While the sulphur did lighten a bit, it never really went away and thus for me this wine never really quite sang. Some good qualities undernearth the sulphur, though. Judgment reserved; probably needs at least 4-6 years in the cellar.

The dishes paired with this flight were “escargot pizza,” “smoked haddock,” and “lobster profiterole.” The escargot pizza was nice, but the challenge is always the chewy texture of the snails. The smoked haddock was better, but the clear stand-out was the lobster profiterole—delicious on its own (esp. the sauce), and the best food paired with the wines.

There was also an Intermezzo, with fresh uni served in a spoon over a bed of tapioca. The uni was excellent, but there wasn’t much textural contrast with the tapioca.

Reds—Part 1

  1. 1990 Robert Chevillon Nuits St. George Les Cailles. Brilliant cherry and underbrush throughout, with really vibrant and balanced acidity. Although not in danger of falling off the cliff, it’s mature and probably won’t improve too much more. Another “wow” and my favorite in this flight.

  2. 1990 Maume Gevrey-Chambertin Champeaux. More tart berry/cherry in the nose, but just slight ripe/pruny fruit in the taste. A touch linear, compared to the Chevillon, and noticeable drying tannis. Not sure if it will improve noticeably with more age. A “yum plus.”

  3. 1995 Joseph Roty Gevrey-Chambertin Fontenys. Lots of earthy cherry with a bit of mushroom throughout. Much bigger texture and more chewy tannins than the previous two wines—clearly needs at least 4-6 more years in the cellar. Someone said “roast coffee” after a bit, and I can see that. A “yum plus” for now with potential for more.

The two dishes with this flight were “pork belly” and “venison tartar.” The pork belly was not very successful—more like thinly-sliced, chewy pork chips and not especially good with the wine. The venison tartar was very good, especially with a quail egg on top and slightly spicy slaw to the side. The tartar paired well with all three wines.

Reds—Part 2

  1. 1999 Groffier Chambolle Musigny Les Sentiers. A more high-toned spice to the cherry—maybe cloves or cinnamon. Sort of like a RRV Pinot meets Burgundy, but without so much cola. The wine is broad and deep on the palate, with medium amount of fine tannins. The most approachable wine in this flight, and probably my red WOTN. A “wow plus.”

  2. 1999 Armand Rousseau Clos St. Jacques. Lots of cherry and plums throughout, with more high-toned spices in the palate. Some nice smoky notes with more aeration. Beautiful wine, but just a hair behind the Groffier for me. Another “wow plus.”

  3. 2002 Prince Florent de Merode Corton-Bressande. More obviously youthful that the two 99’s, with more blackberry to the cherry. Somewhat more masculine than the 99’s, with more obvious acidity and firmer tannins. Overall, too young and needs to be buried in the cellar for at least 4-5 years. A “yum plus” with potential for more.

The two dishes with this flight were “wild boar sopes” and “cote du boeuf.” The wild boar dish was good, but far too spicy to be paired with red Burgs—either Zinfandel, Syrah, or beer. The cote du boeuf, on the other hand, was topped with scoops of bone marrow and paired very nicely, especially with the two 99’s.

  1. Matt’s Mystery Wine. Matt L. decided to bring a mystery wine, so he served it to us double-blind. It clearly was Pinot Noir, and we all guessed various shades of Burgundy. Nope, it turned out to be a pristine bottle of 1978 Chalone Pinot Noir. Although the color gave it away as an older wine (I thought from perhaps the early 80’s), the wine was still fresh and vibrant, with more underbrush and earthiness. A fun wine!

  2. 1996 Baumard Quarts de Chaume (1/2 bottle). I’ve enjoyed this wine many times, and last night was no different. Very tropical, with honey, crème brulee, and lots of white fruits. A fairly dense mouthfeel (sort of like an alcoholic version of the fruit cocktail sauce), and still plenty of residual sugar. Perhaps a touch advanced for being in a half bottle, but another “wow” wine.

After the red wines, we had a great selection of cheeses from the cheese cart—both cow and sheep-based, if I recall correctly. Then there came a dessert course, and although there were two different dessert served, they both were chocolate. Mine was a very small chocolate soufflé with a small pitcher of warm chocolate sauce to pour over the soufflé. Although it didn’t really pair with the Baumard (I would have picked a more port-style wine with the chocolate), the dessert was quite good.

Overall, a successful evening, and we avoided the twin terrors of prem-ox and TCA—we didn’t have a single wine that was bad. I’m just glad I had my cholesterol test run yesterday morning beforehand…….

Bruce

2

Great write-up! I love Chambolle Musigny, what little of it I’ve tried, and was glad to see the Groffier as your WOTN. [cheers.gif]

3

One of the first ‘wow’ red burgs I had was the 99 Groffier ‘Sentiers’. I remember buying it back in 2006 for about $60 along with a bottle of the 99 Les Hauts-Doix. Great stuff but the 06s of the same are about 2x that price now. :frowning:

On the topic of Chambolle Musigny, I picked up a bottle of 2005 Frédéric Magnien Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Baudes last night and I look forward to giving that a try.

4

Bruce - you did a nice job of capturing the evening. For the most part, I agree with you notes. The blanc flight was my favorite of the night and I would have added a “plus” to your rating of the Verget and Ampeau. Both wines were in prime shape and showing wonderful mature flavors, though both were stylistically different. The Ampeau showed a bit more depth and richness, while the Verget showed some herbal qualities. Just a great comparison of aged white burg. The Roulot did suffer from a healthy dose of Sulphur. Towards the end of the flight some of the material began to peak through. If this was a representative bottle, I’d give it another 10 yrs.

The reds were all very nice with the Chevillion, Groffier and Rousseau the top wines, no surprises here (the Chalone was also very special). I thought the Roty was a bit closed and perhaps a very slight TCA presence, though I admit-I am very sensitive to it. All in all the wines preformed very well. The Chalone was a special wine and would have been a stand out on its own. Thanks to Matt for the experience.

I’m glad to hear the food was well received. While not everything was an ideal pairing, we did manage a few excelllent pairs. I thought all the dishes were very good to amazing. I believe we had a selection of goat based cheeses as well. Another great time with a group of people I’m happy to break bread with anytime.