Our Too Many Fine Wines Wednesday Night Dinner Group lived up to its name at a recent outing at Birnam Golf Club {only this one was on a Thursday night} with a wine theme for champagne, white Burgundy and a blind theme of Pinot Noir versus red Burgundy.
Ten of us shared 18 wines with 4 champagnes, 2 white Burgundy, 11 Pinot Noir / Burgundy and a dessert wine while constantly positioning too many wine glasses and barely enough room on our table sized for 12.
Fortunately, our pace was slowed down and most of us were able to hang a little longer with each wine to get a more accurate assessment of what it had to offer. A few of us took enough stemware to put some wines aside and re-visit them later on for even more evaluation. What a concept.
Here’s some notes:
4 Champagnes:
2002 FALLET-DART BRUT MILLESIME- following its yellow gold color came super inviting aromas of honey, brioche and ginger laced citrus with lemon and orange most prevalent; on the palate, additional notes of butter cream, nectarine and tangerine came in while being delivered in a tactile pleasing creamy mousse; on top of all of these highlights was its amazing balance throughout; there was a very slight hint of oxidation at the end, but that was the only sign of any aging and certainly not a deterrent as to how wonderful this was.
2008 PIERRE MONCUIT LE MESNIL SUR OGER GRAND CRU EXTRA BRUT MILLESIME- dosed at 3 gpl; this was my first bottle of this release and it was readily apparent I need to hold off opening another one for a few years as it is surely needed to allow it to more fully develop and express all of the goodness this has in balance; it is fully loaded, has depth, power, energy, richness, layered complexity and a supportive stone fruit flavor profile as well as bright acidity.
2004 DOM PERIGNON BRUT- after 2 very nice champagnes, one mentioned he had another bottle and asked if we should open it announcing what it was; my table partner on the right nudged me to have me quickly answer YES which I was about to do anyway and thankfully so, as this was absolute fabulous; it had a yellow to gold color and was super ready to showcase its treasures which included rich, powerful notes of acid baring citrus fruit; ginger and honeysuckle accents perfectly embellished the orange and lemon peel notes while a coat of honey added to its wondrous creamy mouthfeel and flavor; 30 minutes later, it actually moved up to another level of excellence and I was grateful for the bring and that we opened it.
2015 GOSSET BRUT MILLESIME- from a house that claims to be the oldest wine producer in Champagne {Ay} from a time when red still wines were being made; this release was comprised of 59% Pinot Noir and 41% Chardonnay from Grand and Premier Cru vineyards and aged 5 years on the lees which was apparent especially experienced in its ultra richness and creamy mousse that had some weight in it; from the nose through the tail, it gave generous notes of honeyed fresh lemon, lime and stone fruit with yellow peach, apricot and honey dew melon most prominent.
Next up, 2 white Burgundy:
2014 LOUIS LATOUR CORTON-CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU- pale yellow color; this outstanding wine gave its first indication of being such with inviting aromas of mineral and chalk laden yellow and green apple; once tasted, additional notes of spiced and mineral infused pear and pineapple came in; it had a lovely texture and finished impressively with everything coming together.
2010 VINCENT GIRARDIN LES COMBETTES PULIGNY-MONTRACHET 1er Cru- this was great albeit seemingly somewhat advanced and a suspect for being pre-ox’d, but in a good enough place, I found to be acceptable if not beyond; its color was dark yellow gold and the nose offered mature notes of caramel, butterscotch and honeyed apple and pear that continued on all the way through; it had an oily, feel-good texture, was full bodied and held on for a long satisfying finish.
The first flight of 3 red Burgundy, all selected, numbered and poured blind:
2021 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY NUITS-SAINT- GEORGES- blind; served warm; this was so atypical for Burgundy; in fact, I called it a Cote Rotie with its black pepper and spicy blueberry notes and accused the one who brought it as having missed the theme; I did like it as I do love those pepper notes and this wine was a tasty treat.
2004 BREWER-CLIFTON CARGASACCHI VINEYARD SANTA RITA HILLLS PINOT NOIR- blind; my bring, decanted 2 hours and unrecognized; I loved it and called it Burgundy; it was ideally balanced and seemingly very youthful with a vibrant dark red purple color and aromas and tastes of spice, coffee and dark chocolate laden black cherry; it was full bodied, had a soft, velvety texture with a bit of weight and finished nicely with the wonderful spicy black cherry. My fav of the flight and a surprise once revealed.
2014 WEINGUT DANIEL & MARTA GATENBEIN JANKENLEIN PINOT NOIR- blind; from East Switzerland; this came off as a very big wine with lots of complexity and a huge profile of smoke, toasty and meaty accented red and dark fruit with an emphasis on the smoke; on the palate, I got more smoke and some nice cranberry, red cherry and black raspberry fruit; it was full bodied with layers of depth and finished big, bold and smoky. I was shocked at the average price I found on Wine Searcher = $340. No, I did not get this was a Swiss wine.
Second flight of 3 red Burgundy blind:
2018 PROJECT M FILMENT VINEYARD EOLA-AMITY HILLS WILLAMETTE VALLEY PINOT NOIR- blind; 13.9% abv; the fruit comes from a higher elevation and East facing vineyard in the Walnut Hill area; dark red color; it had a very nice nose of vanilla, honey and spicy red cherry and blueberry; once tasted it also gave up some nice, fresh red berries and cranberries with a touch of tartness; all of the fruit came tougher at the end before fading out gracefully; once revealed, I realized I first had this in November, 2021, with consistent notes and fond appreciation for both the wine and the producer.
2013 DOMAINE GROS FRERES et SOEUR VOSNE-ROMANEE- blind; I struggled to get old world in this wine; it was very fruit forward, even after 15 minutes or so in the glass, and it did not seem all that good to qualify for the few that I left for tasting much later on; it had wild red cranberry aromas, but a sweetened black cherry taste and finish and just needs more time to evolve, mature and come together probably with a good decant.
2021 BEAUX FRERES THE BEAUX FRERES VINEYARD WILLAMETTE VALLEY PINOT NOIR- blind; this was marvelous from the outset and got my attention for the best Pinot Noir yet and maybe a WOTN candidate; talc and sandalwood provided the perfect accents to the red and black raspberry fruit that was prevalent all the way through the back end; it had a super smooth mouthfeel, layered depth and a nice dollop of late arriving blueberry that topped off the taste profile.
Third flight of 3 red Burgundy, served blind:
2021 CATTLEYA CUVEE NUMBER ONE RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- blind; this is sourced from Lakeview Vineyard in the Green Valley in RRV and was made from 52% Pommard and 48% 115 clonal fruit fermented 22 days in separate stainless open-top tanks and aged in 50% new French oak barrels; this release was the first appellation blend under the Cattleya label; I liked it for its inviting aromas of fresh and ripe red fruit with red cherry most prevalent; a touch of talc and cola and an addition of strawberry and black cherry topped this beauty off to make for a tasty treat.
Here’s some more info re this producer;
| The Prince of Pinot
2009 DOMAINE FAIVELEY MAZIS-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- blind; once revealed, a table mate mentioned Mazis have aromas that are “distinctly animal with its pungently earthy, gamy and lightly mineral infused wild red and blue berry” as was the case for the aromas and taste profile in this bottle; my notes stated earthy, leather, mineral accented dried, wild red cherry/ berry fruit; so, it was easily identified as Burgundy, but I had it as a 1er Cru or village, not a Grand Cru as it seemed to have less body, weight and complexity.
2012 DOMAINE PONSOT CLOS de la ROCHE CUVEE VIEILLES VIGNES GRAND CRU- blind; this was another surprise once revealed in that it featured a not too serious profile with bright, fresh red fruit with loads of oak spice, a medium body and frisky, youthful energy; I was sure this was new world and even guessed it to be from Oregon as it was mindful of some wines I’ve had from a label that no longer exists, Gypsy Dancer {owner/winemaker Gary Andrus who founded Pine Ridge and Archery Summit}; had it been drunk openly, it probably would have been the WOTN with label and pedigree bias prevailing.
The 4th and last flight with 2 red Burgundy served blind:
1999 DOMAINE MICHEL GAUNOUX POMMARD GRANDS EPENOTS 1er Cru- blind; I got this as a Burgundy as it had so much complexity, depth and nuances that I find more often here; in this case, the color was a still somewhat youthful red purple with no signs of bricking or fading; the nose offered talc and milk chocolate covered red cherry with a touch of black cherry and blackberry coming in past mid palate and finishing up the nice, long finish; it seems that this could go even longer before reaching its apogee as the fruit profile is still first and foremost. Loved this wine.
2011 ALBERT MOROT BEAUNE TEURONS 1er Cru- blind;
this was very pleasant and a wine that would have benefitted by being positioned in the lineup earlier, thus allowing for more time in the glass; nice spice laden red cherry and red currant was most notable in the nose and the taste while being delivered in a soft and smooth textured medium to the back end; it had grace and charm and enough stuffing, depth and body to impress.
And, a dessert wine to top off the evening;
2001 CHATEAU LA TOUR BLANCHE SAUTERNES- i usually pass on the sweet ones or only have a small sip, but this one got a 2nd sip as it was stupendous giving amazing honeyed apricot, marmalade, orange peel and mango notes and a creamy, viscous texture that emulated buttered candy melting in my mouth; it stayed on my palate for what seemed like hours and I took my time before vigorously brushing my teeth once home.
I failed to get the WOTN tally, but for me, the 2021 Beaux Freres was my fav of the Pinots and the 2004 Dom Perignon was my fav of the champagnes and white Burgundy.
So, we had another night of too many fine wines and as usual, many of which I would never have tasted had it not been for this glutenous and generous group of folks for which I am extremely grateful.
Cheers,
Blake
Thanks as always for sharing your deep and honest impressions of all the wines.
