TNs: Wine dinner with Malaysian friends and a new-school Burgundy tasting

WINE TALK
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WINE DINNER WITH DAVE - (27/5/2025)

A Malaysian wine friend was in town for Vinexpo so got tasked to organise a wine dinner.

  • 2019 Philippe Lancelot Champagne Grand Cru Le Fond Du Bateau Chouilly - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Bottle 60/2125. Disgorged 10 Jan 2024, 2.75 g/l dosage. Guessed as a Savart BdB, a ripe and focused BdB that was more intellectual in nature. Was my second favourite when tasting at the domaine last year after Les Pommiers, today’s bottle was still primary but had immense potential. More approachable and balanced with air. (93 pts.)
  • 2012 Philippe Lancelot 100 Pour Sang Le Terme Bazin, Ambonnay - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Disgorged May 2023, 4.4g/l dosage. Guessed as a Christian Gosset rosé as this showed syrupy cherry fruit at first. The aggressive mousse did make me wonder if this was a Brochet, but was pleasantly surprised that this was a Lancelot given that it was structured and unyielding last year. Softened even further with air, but also needs a lot more time. (92 pts.)
  • 2020 Domaine Alain Chavy Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
    Tropical spice and mint on the nose, also agree with the previous note that this had some quince. Too exotic and flabby for my liking, guessed new world Chardonnay that used too much oak. (88 pts.)
  • 2010 Calera Pinot Noir Reed Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Mount Harlan
    My contribution. Colour and palate was a little advanced for its age, but this had an intoxicating five spice nose that made most guess this as a Rayas stable wine. Acidity and earthiness was very much old-world in nature, with only the sweet fruit betraying its new-world origins. Very seamless, became more youthful with air as it developed a creamy texture. (93 pts.)
  • 2000 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier - Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Canberra District
    Wow on first pour I immediately said Vosne, but after some time in the glass I agreed with someone who said that the spice was more peppery in nature. The sweet cherry and raspberry fruit then brought me to new-world, and I concluded that it was By Farr from a cool vintage in the early '00s. Again I was pleasantly surprised that this turned out to be an aged Clonakilla since I rarely come across them - so seamless and restrained that I couldn’t believe that this was an Oz Shiraz. My WOTN. (94 pts.)
  • 1989 Domaine Les Roches (Alain et Jérome Lenoir) Chinon - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
    This was borderline corked I think but the brett was so strong that it overcame the TCA. Guessed '70s Bordeaux because of the underripe fruit (but did not have overt pyrazines), others guessed CDP. Liked the restrained dark red fruit from a bygone era with fully resolved tannins. (92 pts.)
  • 2019 Jacques Cacheux & Fils Vosne-Romanée Aux Ormes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
    Thought young 2020 Burgundy at first but changed my mind to Nebbiolo given the overt VA. Some unintegrated oak and sweet cherry fruit, a little too manufactured to me. (88 pts.)

Photo 27-5-25, 9 41 06 PM
Photo 27-5-25, 9 41 06 PM1920×1440 201 KB

NEW BURGUNDY TASTING - (28/5/2025)

Organised a new-school Burgundy dinner to taste through some of the newer (not so new now but still unknown to a large part of Burgundy drinkers I think). Unfortunately there were no outstanding wines but I liked the whites much more than the reds. For whites the Si Tu Sais was my favourite among tough competition, with the Cassiopée being the value play. Only liked the Boyer and Lienhardt for the reds, the Skyaasen (over-ripe), Quari (stemmy and lacked structure) and Cassiopée (brett) were particularly unbalanced to me.

  • 2019 Domaine Renaud Boyer Bourgogne Blanc Les Riaux - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
    Unfortunately corked, but thought this had similar vibes to the Saint-Romain that I tried before. Good balance between classic and natty, ripe but balanced and pleasurable. NR (flawed)
  • 2022 Bastian Wolber Bourgogne Blanc Laisse Tomber - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
    Started off with ripe, tropical fruit of pineapple and grapefruit but developed more classic citrus fruit with air. Less complex and singular compared to the reds. (90 pts.)
  • 2022 Domaine de Cassiopée Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Les Côtes - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
    Only 18 bottles for the Singapore market apparently. Understated, crisp citrus fruit, quite similar in profile to the Les Horées Aligoté so I put them side-by-side. At 1/4 of the market price it was a no brainer to pick this, I’m a big fan of this domaine’s whites. Good balance between new-school natty-ness and old-school creaminess, approachable now. (92 pts.)
  • 2023 Les Horées Bourgogne-Aligoté En Coulezain - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne-Aligoté
    Much better than the last coravin bottle in London, more consistent with my previous experiences with this producer. Rich tropical fruit that can feel artificial and overdone, but just about enough tension and minerality for me. (92 pts.)
  • 2022 Si Tu Sais Pernand-Vergelesses Les Belles Filles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses
    The most classic of the whites today with prominent but well-judged oak use. Rich texture and weighty citrus fruit, not lacking in acidity. Most at the table including myself voted this as the white of the night among tough competition. (93 pts.)
  • 2022 Domaine Renaud Boyer Bourgogne Les Riaux - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
    Beautiful, stemmy aromatics with excellent lift. Palate had sweet red fruit with barely perceptible tannins and alcohol, reminiscent of the Rayas stable wines but more restrained. First time trying their reds and very impressed. (93 pts.)
  • 2022 Domaine de Cassiopée Maranges Le Bas du Clos - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Maranges
    Started off elegant but became denser and very bretty with air. Better to drink their reds on the younger side, similar to the 2020 which I thought was better in its youth. (88 pts.)
  • 2021 Domaine Antoine Lienhardt Côte de Nuits Villages Aux Vignottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Nuits Villages
    Initially quite lean and green with some white pepper notes, but put on weight and showed the '21 elegance and approachability in a similar vein to '17s. Turned out to be one of the better reds of the night. (92 pts.)
  • 2022 Maison Skyaasen Pommard - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard
    Over-ripe, candied fruit with semicarbonic vibes. Wasn’t a fan of this producer’s white, not a fan of the red too from this bottle. (86 pts.)
  • 2022 Camille Thiriet Bourgogne Les Chagniots - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
    Rather dark and dense that would have made me guess '20 if blinded because of the purple fruit. Quite heavy-handed on both the oak and extraction, lacked finesse. Another producer that I’ve had mixed experiences of. (89 pts.)
  • 2023 Bastian Wolber Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Laisse Tomber - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
    Surprisingly light and candied compared to the previous experiences that I’ve had with this producer which were darker-fruited with more structure. Put on more weight with air while retaining its playful character, one of the better reds on the night. (91 pts.)
  • 2023 Non Progredi Est Regredi (Antonio Quari) Ladoix Les Briquottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Ladoix
    Was warned that this might be natty but didn’t get any brett, even though it had a cloudy colour. A mix between a Jura and Rayas stable red with sweet raspberry fruit and tartness, but without structure. Not my preferred style of Pinot. (89 pts.)
  • 2022 Maison Harbour Corton - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
    Probably the most traditional Pinot of the night so others liked this the most, but showed too much oak and extraction, together with the angularity and grippy tannins of Corton. Concentrated dark fruit that reminded me more of '20. (88 pts.)

Extras
Some extras from another room.

6 Likes
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Great TNs Melvin.

And thank you for the check-in on Philippe’s 100. I have high hopes for it but it appears that much time is still required.

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I had the 2001 Clonakilla back in 2016 and it was a revelation, a dead ringer for an old school Cote Rotie. Unfortunately I almost never see them here.

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Wasn’t he part of Wu-Tang before they made it big?
Or was he the activist preaching for sélection massale?

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80s New Wave?

Clonakiller, Qu’est-ce que ce…

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Surprised by your note, as the ones I tasted,two of the Emphase '19, were relatively big and bold. Really well made wine, but not so far from Sonoma, especially on first sip, We really enjoyed them; partner demanded more; we’re holding some '21. But lean and green was not my experience. Maybe the bottling or the vintage?
As always, I really enjoy your notes and the work you put into them. Thanks!

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probably the vintage. i had the 21 emphase and 22 vignottes on consecutive nights and the emphase was definitely on the lean end of the spectrum. still delicious but probably most people would prefer the 22.

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FWIW these are my other notes on Lienhardt, is the Emphase made in a different way?

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Here’s my note on the '22 Emphase. I would definitely not call it lean and green, but definitely had some interesting herbal and sous bois notes that can come across as green. Though I’m guessing the '22 was a lot riper than the '21, and while it had very sweet fruit, I wouldn’t mistake this mistake this for Sonoma.

My one issue with the Emphase was while it was delicious on pop n’ pour, it definitely declined in the glass with air. It seems like a wine that can’t really age well, but maybe it was just this one bottle.

  • 2022 Domaine Antoine Lienhardt Côte de Nuits Villages Emphase - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Nuits Villages (5/24/2025)
    A beautifully expressive and complex nose of wild strawberries, flowers, and subtle green and earthy notes that's very evocative of whole clusters. The palate has a silky texture, seamless acidity, and elegant weight. Its incredibly sweet dark red fruit is layered with complex earthy and green notes of sous bois, bitter herbs, and a smoky minerality that crescendos on the finish. This is really superb for the first hour, before the wine nosedives with air and its clarity of flavors loses focus and becomes muddled. It is still drinkable, but it was quite surprising to have a wine start so superbly on pop and pour, and then to decline so rapidly with time in the glass. I still like it, but I'm skeptical about the ageability of this wine.

Posted from CellarTracker

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i think the main difference between emphase and the single parcel wines is emphase has (more) stem inclusion? i believe some of the other cuvees actually might even be destemmed.

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Well, try the '19 and then let me know what you think.

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I did some research and I think the single-vineyards all use semi-carbonic maceration.

The importer website says all use 100% whole cluster.

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if you click through to les essards lieu dit it says it is destemmed 100% :man_shrugging:

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Interesting. I’m guessing Polaner didn’t update their website (or needs to hire a copy editor).

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i guess he changed his style around the 2019 vintage as well to move toward a more natty direction. maybe prior to that some wines were destemmed? i cannot find anything definitive. emphase has shown the most stems to me in any vintage.

melvin, also your take on the thiriet wine is spot on in my experience. do not understand the hype. a perfectly good drink but definitely can feel a touch coarse or even tough.

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Thanks @Yule_Kim for the research! Based on my experience there definitely has been a stylistic shift chez Lienhardt. I have always found his wines stemmy but interesting that Winehog thinks that Emphase is better in cooler vintages, when I thought stems were supposed to help with alcohol levels.

On Thiriet, indeed some people seem to love her wines but haven’t found them to be particularly outstanding.

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Glad you caught a good bottle of red from Boyer.

They can be great or frustrating.

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I haven’t had that wine from Thiriet but have generally liked her wines.

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Mousy? Thankfully I’ve only had good bottles in both colours (bar the corked white at this dinner), but prices in the secondary market are a little out of whack.

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Yes, good for twenty minutes and then sometimes they can go sideways.

The whites I drank have always been consistent and the Puligny can be pretty special.

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