CHAMBOLLES AND OTHERS AT MIKE AND CATHY’S - (1/4/2015)
Mike and Cathy decided to celebrate the New Year with a dinner at their place. The attendees brought wines from their cellars. Mike, Nick and I decided to bring Chambolle-Musignys to compare. All wines were served blind.
Thanks to Cathy and Mike for a lovely meal and to all attendees for their interesting company and wines …
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NV André Clouet Champagne Brut Rosé - France, Champagne, Bouzy, Champagne
Served blind. Strawberry colour. Nice fine bead. A nose of strawberries, raspberries and a little mandarin. Not strong autolysis notes. Sweet on entry to the palate but dry and relatively savoury on the mid and back palates. Nuances of strawberries, mulberries and rust, actually quite dry, seemed lower dosage. Vibrant and fresh with good acidity. Delicate and elegant. Quite long, finishing mineral. A good Rosé, it would be interesting to cellar. -
NV Lanson Champagne Brut Black Label - France, Champagne
Served blind. Disgorged in February 2014. A lovely fresh, lively bouquet of citrus, green apples, wet granite and other minerals, with some leesy elements. In the mouth, a good dosage but with freshness and good acidity. Light on its feet and bright (perhaps due in part to the lack of malo, which Mike said was a house tradition) but moderately detailed and complex. Fairly long it finishes slightly bitterly, which I liked. Not a Champagne house I follow but excellent QPR. Mike bought a case at a per bottle price less than some NZ sparkling wines. -
2002 Jacques Selosse Champagne Millésimé - France, Champagne
Again blind. Disgorged on 23 February 2012. Wow, this is a step up! Deep yellow colour but, paradoxically, youthful looking. Served in a Riesling glass, to make the most of the aromatics. Aromatically complex with notes of orange rind, butterscotch, burnt toffee and buttered toast with marmalade. On bouquet, clearly made in an oxidative style. But, on the palate, the impression is very different, fresh and vigorous, with a beautiful balance between the bright acidity and the oxidation. A lovely, classy wine with great interest. I thought the Champagne actually a Blanc de Noirs, due to what I perceived as pinot noir complexity on palate. This is a superb Blanc de Blancs. Detailed flavour profile: citric, malic, mineral, spicy, creamy, chalky etc … Thanks Graham. -
2007 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Loibner Berg - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Light gold. A nose of baking spices, spicy baked apples, pears and mealiness. In the mouth, there is a tactile, oily, viscous mouthfeel. The palate was relatively complex with real depth, fruit weight and power and flavours of pears, baked apples, cream and bauxite. There was a little too much heat on the back palate for me (14% alcohol on the label). I’d drink this wine in the next five years or so. -
2010 Leflaive et Associés Rully 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Rully 1er Cru
A gorgeous nose of citrus, mixed spices, pear, limestone and some oyster shell. In the mouth, a lovely, youthful but quite approachable wine with relatively detailed flavours of pears, spices, blanched almonds, minerals and citrus. It paired beautifully with the Tarakihi with the skin on. It had good concentration and sufficient acids. The consensus was that the wine was not perhaps a cellar wine, but who cares, it’s gorgeous and interesting now. -
2009 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Served blind to me, this seemed clearly a Grand Cru Chablis, from a riper year. A fresh, marine nose of salt, seashells, chalk and minerals. However, there are other atypical Chablis notes of almond croissant, exotic fruits, mixed nuts and mealiness. Less clearly Chablis on palate. Quite rounded, ripe and rich, with real Grand Cru depth and power. However, although lower acid than many Chablis, there is still sufficient acid here to retain focus (but leading Nick to ask, ‘Did they acidify this wine?’). The flavours were peaches and pears, some rock melon, blanched almonds, lemons and minerals. Still quite primary and clenched on mid palate, with a long, dry finish. Premox aside, I don’t see this wine making old bones but I would hold for 3-5 years. -
2011 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
I served this wine blind in Burgundy glasses to see if the assembled Burgophiles would mistake this wine for a Burgundy. None of the tasters had had the wine before and a couple did think it might be Burgundy and all seemed to think it a serious wine. A perfumed, sweet and intriguing nose of dark berries, with some herbal elements (someone thought dill) and spicy notes. On palate, this is a superb, young wine, with serious fruit weight and concentration (from the old vines, presumably). An intense and persistent big boned wine, more dark berried than red, it is still quite primary and tannic. The tannins are however sweet and very fine grained. I had the 2011 regular Rosso the night before, and the Prephylloxera is quite a step up. It is relatively low acid, but not too low, I thought. On reflection, the wine is closer to an old vine Nebbiolo than a Burgundy. Finishing a sample the next day, neither the bouquet nor palate had moved. Give the Prephylloxera 5+ years in the cellar to come together. -
2006 Domaine Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
Served blind but the remnants of the Fourrier wax seal were a giveaway as to the wine’s identity. I like to think I would have identified at least the house on bouquet even without this. Bright iridescent colour. A classic Fourrier nose of bright, lifted red berries, particularly raspberries, red cherries and some cranberries, with chalk and wet limestone. The next day, I thought the bouquet had moved more to darker berries. In the mouth, a sweet entry. Also, Fourrier signature on palate, bright, sparking acidity with red berry flavours. I guessed the wine as an '08. On the night, the wine looked a little straightforward and lighter bodied up against the 1ers. The next night, finishing the bottle, the Fourrier seemed more polished and to have put on a little more depth and weight. In any case, a good Villages level wine, drinking well now, but there is no hurry. -
2003 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru La Combe d’Orveau Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Served blind. A beautiful, floral bouquet with aromas of red berries - particularly raspberries and red cherries - and spice. I would not have picked this as Chambolle on the palate. Beside the Fourrier, much larger scaled, weightier fruit. Clearly at least 1er dry extract, but matched with good acidity. Fresh, energetic and well balanced. I picked the wine as a 2006. No stereotypical 2003 overripeness or low acidity here. A detailed flavour profile of red cherries, raspberries and other red berries, bramble and some minerals. Just at the beginning of its drinking window with some years ahead of it, I would think. -
1999 Domaine Hervé Sigaut Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Sentiers Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Decanted for a couple of hours before serving. A deeper, darker red colour than the Clavelier next to it. My wine had a subdued, introverted nose (both on the night and on the second day) of dark berries, some dark spices and a faint top note of violets. A restrained, but classic, beautiful Chambolle nose, I thought. Similar in the mouth. Quite closed. Very elegant. People had this as an '06 or '08 and were surprised to hear that it was 16 years old. Excellent acidity, fruit weight and structure, flavours in the black berry fruit spectrum. The palate was the same the next night. Really classy. Hold for 5-10 years, hopefully it’ll blossom into something really special! -
2008 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod / Barthod-Noëllat Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Decanted for a couple of hours before serving. Nick’s wine had a complex nose of red and black fruits, with minerals and spices. On palate, it was very tight and primary, and acidic and a little vegetal. Also, it is very tannic with a lot of high quality oak yet to integrate. It is presently very austere and a little monolithic, as a lot of '08s are at present. Nick reported that it was much more open when he first pulled the cork and that it had shut down considerably since. Seemingly a very good wine with serious matière. Give this wine 10+ years. -
2003 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri Sassicaia Sassicaia - Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia
Served blind by Barbara, on bouquet alone, this wine was a change of speed. A Cabernet nose of cedar, cigar box, liquorice, crème de cassis and dark cherries. A lovely wine, with good shape, on palate. Quite modern in style, very well balanced and elegant. Again, no suggestion of 2003 overripeness or lack of acidity. Quite a sleek wine with well integrated, smooth tannins. Good power, structure and length. Something in the flavour profile seemed to mark the wine out as not Bordeaux, even in a modern style. An excellent wine. Drinking well now but years ahead of it. -
2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Decanted three hours earlier. Pairing beautifully with the dessert, the Prüm showed some notes of kerosene, with green apples, lemons, spices, apricots, honey and crème brûlée, the high residual sugar obvious. Aromatically very complex. In the mouth, a gorgeous, complex and detailed wine with a very sweet entry that finishes long and dry. A multi-dimensional flavour profile - including minerals, honey, citrus, apricots and melons - with serious fruit weight and power. Laser-like precision and focus, with great intensity, due to the beautiful, sparkling acids. I thought, as a 2001, this might be ready to go on the night. It was delicious, but there is a tightness to the mid palate that shows this wine will best be enjoyed with significant additional cellar time. ‘Put it away for 20 years’, said Mike, which would be great advice if you can wait. An absolutely classy Auslese.
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