Tuesday Lunch Bunch 04/15/14 - 2000 red Burgs

WINE TALK
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Another nice lunch for sure and the last one before Hank heads back up to Canada for the summer :slight_smile:. The food turned out to be FABULOUS and went very well with the wines. First Course: Spaetzle - Cambozola, Mint, Toasted Walnuts and Pears. Second Course: Potato Crusted Salmon - Asparagus, Beets, Mushrooms, Chive Butter and Soubis Sauce. Third Course: Bacon Wrapped Chicken - Truffled Veal Ragout, Corn Spoon Bread, English Peas, Confit Leeks and Duo Sauces. Yummy!

We had a VERY interesting first flight of wines that were presented to the group blind by Bill. The only thing we knew was that it was white wine neener. Ended up being the same varietal (Chardonnay), same region (Chablis), same vintage (2009), same producer (Verget), and the same vineyard/bottling (Terres de Pierres). Sooooo, what made these two wines different you ask - the closure! One was under screwcap and the other under a synthetic cork (? producer) that is supposed to allow oxygen diffuse at the rate that a wine would need to age for 6 years!!! Not sure of the science behind the synthetic cork but it is supposed to mimic a natural cork. Our findings were interesting… FYI: the screwcap bottle was replaced with a regular top bottle of the same wine to not confuse our guesses at the lunch table. I guessed that they were both zippy Chards from St. Aubin so at least I was sorta close :slight_smile:.

The reds were all from 2000 with a couple of interesting combos to taste side-by-side. They were all opened in the morning and double decanted back into the bottle to be served non-blind 3-4+ hours later.
First Flight.jpg
First Flight - Blind Whites (2009 Verget Chablis Terre de Pierres):

  1. Steely minerality is what I wrote down first. A squeeze of citrus throughout, lemon zest, touches of chalky tart honey cream, moderate finish. Fresh and seemingly young!
  2. More fat tangerine here, medium touches of minerality, lime cream, touches of warm herbs. Seemed to be a wee bit older than the first wine.

#1 was the bottle of Verget that had been under screwcap. Cool set of wines to get our first impressions of and they both went really well with the Spaetzle :slight_smile:.
Second Flight.jpg
Second Flight:
2000 Domaine Maume Mazis-Chambertin: Unfortunately corked :frowning:. No points toward ranking this wine in the end from the group.

2000 Nicolas Potel Mazis-Chambertin: A really nice showing for this one IMHO - spiced red fruits, touches of black licorice and currants, slightly reductive but showed nice in the glass after a bit. Celery root, tart cherry, and medium+ acid driven tannin profile. I liked it but it just didn’t rise above the rest - no points toward ranking this wine in the end from the group.

2000 Domaine Trapet (Jean et Jean-Louis) Chambertin: This was a tart little gem! Touches of integrated oak - spiced tea and acid driven cherry caramel. Sweet texture with lovely soft fruits - lively and long. Suave texture with a long finish! Another reason to try these Trapet wine from the past and in current vintages - lovely stuff here IMHO. This got 1st place from the group with 15 points overall.
Third Flight.jpg
Third Flight:
2000 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares: This color was quite a bit more vibrant than the next two with flashes of reddish purple from core to edge. Soft and subtle showing for this - with the requisite powerful texture and flavor profile. Touches of red fruits, savory black strawberry, touches of soft perfumed aromatics, and nice powerful/powdery tannins. A very well balanced wine with a nice future ahead of it. This wine got 4th place from the group with 4 points overall.

2000 Domaine Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin: A wee bit browner at the edges as it sat in the glass. This wine started off quite dirty - in a good way :slight_smile:. Touches of stinky socks, meat juices, and bacon. Syrah :stuck_out_tongue:??? This integrated quite well into this wine. Nice sweet fruits and seemingly very well balanced but faded in the glass and loss some charm as it sat. A nice showing but not my favorite… This wine got 3rd place from the group with 7 points overall. Interesting to taste this one next to its close relative - the Chezeaux Griotte.

2000 Domaine des Chezeaux Griotte-Chambertin (Ponsot bottling): I wrote down pretty earth first. Really nice touches of black tea, spiced cherries, and a fairly nice structure here IMHO. Seemed good enough with a really nice Gevrey profile that I like. This wine got 2nd place overall from the group with 10 points overall.

These 2000 red burgs were nice enough and will stick around for a while yet - nothing spectacular and very serviceable wines!!!

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First Flight with Food.jpg
Second Flight with Food.jpg
Third Flight with Food.jpg

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Ahhhhh yes!! Favre notes…I’m happy again! :stuck_out_tongue:
I’ve have many a Verget Meursault from cork and screw…and can tell a big diff with the screw cap ones…much fresher and vibrant.

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Jon…nice notes/event …what are you extrapolating from this about the quality and , particularly, the future of the 2000 vintage in reds? I can’t tell… that or whether they improved with whatever aeration you gave them.

My hunch is that this vintage, particularly at the grand cru level…is a 20 year vintage, but…I don’t really know much at this point.

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I really do think that some of the better made '00s will drink well for 20+ years assuming good storage. Stylish wines that please but just don’t knock your socks off except for a few stars. One thing that I know is that predicting aging curves for burgundy especially is futile as they can generally please to the upside if you have a good hunch about their quality :slight_smile:.

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I should include food notes also Buzz - 2+michelin star quality [cheers.gif]. Glad you can make 3.0 and celebrate my 40th birthday year with me champagne.gif!

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Sadly, this was my last Lunch Bunch get-to-gether before embarking for home this weekend. It was snowing in Edmonton yesterday morning, and we will no doubt be greeted with snow on the ground in those areas of our yard under the tall spruce trees.

Major differences in the two Chablis were the fresh, fragrant aromas in the screw capped bottle, as compared with the citrus and slight edged tropical fruit on the nose of the cork enclosed bottle. My initial impression with the first one was that it might be a Viognier, although the fragrant expression was not as intense as I normally associate with Viogniers. Both had fine acidity…more citrus flavours in the screw capped bottle, while I detected a more mineral element in the cork enclosed bottle, which also finished a bit longer.

The Trapet Chambertin’s elegance and balance pushed it into the lead on the other wines, and I found the two Griotte Chambertin’s an interesting comparison. The Leclerc started out with a pungent aroma which dissipated with time swirling in the glass…was more fuzzy and amber garnet that the Ponsot bottle, which was deeper in colour. I liked the texture and tangy red fruit in the Leclerc, while the Ponsot was more elegant and supple on the palate. Both had very long finishes.

I believe these 2000’s have still more cellaring time and should bring forth some further nuances and pleasures over the next 3 to 4 years. While probably a notch below some other Burgundy vintages, the wines from 2000 are nevertheless very attractive.

The three food courses were absolutely delicious, and matched well with the wines.

Again, thanks to Jon for his organization, photos and notes, and to Bill for hosting the blind tasting of the two Verget bottlings.

Looking forward to rejoining the Bunch in November.

Hank [cheers.gif]

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Hank, given what the guys drink in Tucson, why go back to Canada?

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[basic-smile.gif] a lot of reasons to go back home, Howard, including the tax man, visitor limitations cross border, etc. Summer here in Tucson is a compelling reason to seek cooler climes, too.

I do manage to drink some very fine wines back home, of course, but this Lunch Bunch will be missed - great company, knowledgeable wine enthusiasts, among the immediate regrets in going home. Will be returning in the Fall in time to take in the basketball games at U of Arizona. They lose a couple of outstanding players in the Draft, but a strong incoming class, coupled with the return of Brandon Ashley. Maybe they can take that additional step this next season.

Hank [cheers.gif]

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Hope he can make it past night one this year [snort.gif]

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Howard, the wines and company are truly exceptional. For a Northerner Wine Geek, unbeatable in the Winter. By mid-April, I suspect Hank knows the score…climatically and geographically.

Thanks for sharing Jon. Aren’t you headed to Bern’s any day?

RT

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We should take this over to the college basketball thread, but who is staying and who is going pro.

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Howard, Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson have opted to enter the Draft…Jordin Mayes graduated, while the remaining players from 2013-2014 stay. Gordon is expected to be a lottery pick…still just 18 years of age, while Johnson will have to impress this Summer to be in the first round; he will likely be a second round pick.

Hank [cheers.gif]

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Safe trip up north Hank! You get to pick the first lunch upon your return so let us know what you want to drink [cheers.gif].

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He’ll have to make it through two dinners and a lunch - tough by any standard neener!

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In a couple of weeks RT! Remember, it’s a dry heat here in the southwest - perfect pool/BBQ weather :slight_smile:.

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Thanks for doing the notes again Jon. In general I agree with your descriptions.
The synthetic cork was Nomacorc Premium. I don’t have much experience with synthetic closures but this one came closest to a real cork as I’ve found regarding extraction from the bottle.
Enjoy the cool summer Hank, we look forward to your safe return this fall.

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Again, another great lunch…perhaps a bit too much food…but good for the doggie bag. This was a very interesting tasting. I know we sampled a lot of 02’s at last years Favre 2.0 in SF. Again they show well and are good for current consumption. Several were pretty structured and should be in it for the longer haul. We will miss Hank this summer. Thank you Jon for they organizing the lunches around my summer work schedule. [cheers.gif]
My comments:
2009 Verget Chablis Terre de Pierres - Pretty close, but preferred the synthetic cork version…just a bit more texture and depth. Both good.
2000 Domaine Maume Mazis-Chambertin - Bummer it was corked. Actually I kept the wine in glass the entire lunch and the TCA did not worsen. The palate was pretty good and if it had not been corked, I think it would have scored towards the top of the group.
2000 Nicolas Potel Mazis-Chambertin - This wine surprised me. I’m usually not a big Potel fan, but this was quite good with excellent structure that will allow many more years of cellaring imo. The nose was quite reductive at first, but this dissipated with air. Nice mid palate depth.
2000 Domaine Trapet (Jean et Jean-Louis) Chambertin - Totally different than the Potel. Much more ready to drink now ( and should be drunk now imo) Very enjoyable. Ranked it first on my ‘enjoy now’ ranking, but perhaps not the best wine for cellaring imo. Soft, rich, dark cherries. Good balance and sweet finish.
2000 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares - Typical young Jadot. A bit shy to start, but started to come out of its shell with air. Nice structure with soft tannins and adequate acid to keep in the cellar for awhile.
2000 Domaine Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin - The two Griottes were my top 2 wines. Interesting to see the stylistic differences in the 2, given the same vintage and vineyard. I think both have the structure to age very well. This was more red fruited with some floral notes, excellent structure and length.
2000 Domaine des Chezeaux Griotte-Chambertin (Ponsot bottling) - More depth, mid palate volume and structure than the Leclerc…excellent finish. Preferred it by a hair.

Thanks again Jon for organizing. It’s always fun. Next up '89 Bordeaux…Should be great.

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As you say, Roger, 1989 Bordeaux are next.

I will follow the line to see what everyone is bringing and, if appropriate, will try to pull up an '89 Montrose from my cellar that day, and report on my impressions. [basic-smile.gif]

Hank [cheers.gif]

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…including when a Torontonian visitor makes his first sojourn to Edmonton [grin.gif] (we had that 89 Montrose Hank mentions last summer and it was dynamite)

Hank had alerted me to the imminent posting of this thread. Thanks, as always, for the notes and impressions, Jon and others. I haven’t yet had a Chezeaux that has knocked me over, but this one sounds good. Have loved Trapet and Rossignol-Trapet wines whenever I’ve tasted them. Alas, I have but one 2002 Chambertin which is reserved for an event 2 years from now.

Ah, me, I remember the time when Buzz knew not of Meursault. How things (wonderfully) change…

Salud,

Mike