Had a few recent vintage Grand Cru red Burgs a couple weeks ago at a tasting put on by our local retailer. Was told that all bottles were decanted for about 3 hours.
2007 Meo-Camuzet Clos de Vougeot
Light purple hue on deep, dark red background. Plenty of pretty pinot fruit with noticeable oak and a spicy element on the nose. On the palate, very refined, medium-minus acidity, good but not great concentration and grip, dark red fruit profile, fine ripe tannins, not very complex at this stage, finishes moderately long with noticeable, but not obtrusive, oak. Overall quite stylish and refined.
2003 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays
Dark pruny red, no browning but some clearing at edge. Aromatically pretty closed down, but what nose emerged was dominated by stewed, almost burnt cherry. There was also just a hint of mint, which is something I’ve not picked up before in Lambrays. Middle weight with medium-minus acidity, somewhat hollowed-out mid-palate with some burnt cherry notes, moderately long finish with bitter tannins, a little heat, and some noticeable oak (unusual for Lambrays). I’m a big fan of Lambrays but IMO this is a victim of the vintage.
2005 Domaine Laleure-Piot Corton-Rognet
First time tasting this domaine. Deep dark pretty mahogany. Clamped down on the nose, just a touch of blackberry, perhaps black cherry. Medium-plus body, great balance with medium acidity, very good concentration, ripe black fruits but in no way over the top, medium coarse tannins, moderately long finish. Not overly complex, but well-made and perfectly balanced. I think this will be very nice in another 10 years.
2006 Domaine Perrot-Minot Charmes-Chambertin VV
Medium dark red with no purple hue. A little Gevrey funk and spice on the nose, sweet dark cherry, earthy. Medium-plus body with medium-minus acidity, rich concentration, ripe but not over-ripe, slightly chalky tannins, a little bit of heat, no overt oakiness, moderately complex. WOTN for what this is now and I suspect it will improve for another decade+.
2006 Domaine Bertagna Clos St. Denis
Pretty red/mahogany. Pretty red fruits on relatively muted nose. Lower acidity, sweet dark cherry, medium body, refined, elegant, simple, short finish. Pleasant but a little lackluster for a Grand Cru.
2007 Domaine Jayer-Gilles Echezeaux (du Dessus)
Very deep, dark red with some purple hue. Very closed down nose. Middle weight but not very concentrated, medium-plus acidity, fruit is more rustic, overt oak on finish. Seems somewhat “muddy” without a lot of transparency. Doesn’t seem to have the stuffing to handle the acidity and wood.
I would say my take home point for this tasting is the appreciation for the effect of vintage. While this was not a blind tasting and they were all too young to fully appreciate, each of the wines had characteristics that were consistent with what one would expect from the vintage. I have very little 2003 in my cellar, and this does not change my lack of interest in that vintage. The 2007 examples here do not provide much transparency to the underlying terroir IMO. Reminds me somewhat of the 2000 vintage with a little higher acidity but without the really pretty immediately enjoyable fruit. OTOH, I’m a little more impressed with 2006. In regard to the Perrot-Minot, I was very pleasantly surprised. I generally am a little oak-a-phobic, but this Charmes was flat-out gorgeous and less oak-influenced than the Meo or the Jayer-Gilles. I think the oak regimen had recently been tamed down at this domaine, but I’m not sure of the details. Meanwhile, just another data point that 2005 should be fantastic. I’ve barely touched any of my '05s, but with occasional glimpses like this, the anticipation is high.
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