2005 Hospices de Beaune Pommard Cuvée Raymond Cyrot Lucien Le Moine- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard (1/15/2015)
developing nose shows tobacco, red cherry, cranberry, and sage. palate is driven by acid, with flavors of cranberry, red cherry, herbs de provence, and sweet spice. sweet spice and acid left behind on a pleasant, medium length finish. seems to be evolving somewhat earlier than I would expect, and a bit thin on the palate, but quite pleasant and I do expect this still has some time ahead. (88 pts.)
This one is from the other day, too bad it didn’t show better. Oh well, it was just kicking around anyways…
2007 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (1/16/2015)
Greenish yellow in the glass, very youthful. Nose is pretty, showing some lactic notes, spice and herbal characteristics in front of yellow fruit / lemon. Very smooth on the palate, oak is mostly integrated and consistent from entry through finish but does leave a cloying spice note. Medium + finish. This is a nice wine, but there’s just not a lot going on here. Good - Drink or Hold.
I thought opening this might be a bad idea, but gave up trying to find something else after tipping over a case and a bottle breaking on the cellar floor (goodbye 1974 Montevina Ruby Cabernet). Anyway… Very dark red-purple color. Very little in terms of aromas - slight hints of cherry/red wine. Substantial cherry/berry fruit dominated by the structure - lots of tannin and lots of acidity. Some mineral. Tannic finish. Overall, I’ll report back on the +24 and +48 hour evolution, but not ready to drink now.
Switched over to leftover 2009 Anthill Farms “Peters Vineyard” Sonoma Coast Syrah, and boy, is this a nice wine. Very N. Rhone/Crozes-Hermitage in style, medium bodied, moderately ripe, very well balanced, complex (fruit + hints olive), and a lovely fruity/hint spice character.
Bonus TN from this past weekend: 2010 Sandhi Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills (13.5%abv)
Medium red color. Hints of berry/sappy fruit on the nose. Medium bodied, ripe enough but more on the restrained/‘cool’ side. Hints of sappy berry and red cherry fruit, but dominated by pomegranate juice and pomegranate seeds (hint green/tannic), which was especially apparent having coincidentally consumed a fresh pomegranate a couple days before. Good structure and balance (moderate tannins, fresh acidity), medium finish. Overall, quite enjoyable; liked the flavor profile of this well enough, + ripe enough for my tastes, + reasonable regional typicity.
93 Ampeau Meursault Perrieres-- Purchased a 6 pack from a cellar release last year. This is bottle 4. Upon opening their was a weird moldy smell. The cork was black with mold from the top about a third way down. Pouring out this was a deep gold and certainly the darkest of the bottles I’ve had. The wine was ok but a little flat. Fruit was going but not oxidized. still drinkable but not what I seek and again the worst of the bottles I’ve had from this purchase or other previous bottles of the same.
2005 Domaine Coste-Caumartin Pommard 1er Cru Le Clos des Boucherottes - Nose of rose petals, iron and a hint of black tea. Kind of a muted palate - lots of crunchy acid, a bit of iron, but not a lot of complexity or fruit. Maybe shut down, but I think more likely just doesn’t have much going on to begin with.
Bottle in seemingly good condition with cork soaked about 3/4 of the way up. Asphalt and powder-puff on the nose, yielding to dried fruits with an hour of air. Good acid on the palate with well integrated but drying tannins. Somewhat clunky on the palate with a finish that’s quite austere. Maybe this needs more time but I can’t see this ever exhibiting much charm or intrigue.
2000 Bitouzet-Prieur Volnay Taillepieds–Just arrived. Haven’t had much from the producer. Best after being open for two hours, and still gaining. Just about perfect maturity. Transparent, light appearing, yet dark in hue. Pretty, airy, yet dark fruited nose. Palate is on the light side, but nice acids, and gives the impression of being a little delicate, yet the fruit on the palate is on the darker side and there’s a background note of seriousness typical of Taillepieds. Sort of a luncheon burgundy, but intriguing. $40 recent price. Glad to have it.
TN: 2011 Domaine Bernard Moreau & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes
2011 Domaine Bernard Moreau & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet (1/16/2015)
This wine was in my wheelhouse. Beautiful perfume, complex berry, cherry flavors, a true burg experience, just what I was looking for. Splash decanted and drunk over 3 hours it opened up to reveal a complex mineral infused cherry delight. Delish. (90 pts.)
2011 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru (1/17/2015)
Drank this earlier in the week. This was just an average burg, medium body, lightish cherry/berry flavors a little hollow middle ground with enough acidity to keep interest. Maybe a little herbal sneaking in. Couldn’t coax much aroma though. Didn’t really live up to premier cru. (87 pts.)
2010 Domaine Berthelemot Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune- France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune (1/14/2015)
This wine had a bright cherry nose/flavor but seemed a bit reticent possibly in a closing down phase. Seemed to have the acid/tannin balance and stuffing to come out nicely on the other side. Guess when is the question. (88 pts.)
I opened a 2001 Yvon Clerget Pommard Rugiens but it was corked. My backup was the 2001 Yvon Clerget Volnay Santenots which had a brilliant ruby color, just starting to hint at rust at the rim. Cherry and cranberry aroma with a bit of spice and leaves, and a hint of rust, neutral wood and citrus peel. In the mouth it was crunchy with fairly high acid, good flavor and a little tannin at the edge. Drinking nicely but worth a shot at more age.
An unexpected find at the liquor store, opened it for a dinner party on Saturday. 5 hours in the decanter. Throws off plum, a bit of leather and black cherry aromatics. Even with that decant, it’s still got a long way to go, tight with lots of carry and authority, but somewhat muted black fruit right now. Good earthy component. May come around in 5 years.
A few from a tasting and an event that I went to this past weeK;
2008 Domaine Bernard & Thierry Glantenay Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (1/17/2015) An excessibe [sic] balla [sic] afternoon at Domaine (Chicago, IL): This is perhaps a bit of a poster child for what I worry about when I taste 2008 wines. The nose was pleasant, with the classical red fruit and stems, but the palate is starting to empty out, leaving a lot of structure and just not quite enough fruit. Will this be able to come back together? I hope so… but right now, this is quite archetypical for a well-made, middle-tier, 2008 red Burgundy. (88 pts.)
2011 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru (1/15/2015) Flickinger Tasting at The Casino (Chicago, IL): From a double magnum #baller. Holy crap, this thing is sulphured – no doubt the format doesn’t help either. Lots and lots of sulphur, but under that is a very chiseled and steely nose with some faint grapefruit notes. The palate is just as massive, with a very dense and steely character and acidity that’s just razor sharp. Very difficult to approach now for just drinking (well, that’s probably because of the format), this is a wine that ought to make you sit down and concentrate on it. Without a doubt Henri Boillot is making some of the most convincing affordable examples of white Burgundy on the market these days. (93 pts.)
2012 Domaine Dublère Meursault 1er Cru Charmes- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru (1/15/2015) Flickinger Tasting at The Casino (Chicago, IL): Perhaps a little fat in general, this still had a lot of steely acidity. On the other hand, the rich texture didn’t integrate too well with everything else, so you almost experience this wine in two phases. Weird, but a very decent bottle of chardonnay nonetheless. (88 pts.)
2011 Henri Boillot Volnay 1er Cru Champans- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (1/15/2015) Flickinger Tasting at The Casino (Chicago, IL): A darker nose that’s definitely more on the restrained side of things. The palate is similarly dark, with a bit of oak showing prominently right now. Wait some time for this to settle in, but not too long, as I don’t think the stuffing is there for the long haul. (85 pts.)
2009 Pierre Matrot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Combettes.” Labeled as 13.5% abv. Imported by Diageo. I opened this during the second half of the Green Bay vs. Seattle game and had another glass with Sunday’s dinner of macaroni and cheese and broccoli (not a very elegant meal for an elegant white Burgundy but David Bueker has stated that he doesn’t believe you need fancy food to go with a fancy wine–eat what you like.)
The wine is pale gold with transparency. On the attractive nose I find peach, beeswax, white flowers and a hint of lanolin. The minerality reminds me of limestone and the acidity seems to be in balance. It is fresh and crisp and would complement shellfish such as clams, crab cakes (if not too spicy) and lobster. This is at least medium in body and lingers on the finish. Very nice!
I bought a bunch of 2009 and 2010 Domaine Des Croix on close-out prices, never having tasted this domaine’s wines. There were some quite positive notes from Coates and from Alan Meadows. Having tasted through many of them, I now wish I had bought even more.
2009 Domaine Des Croix Beaune 1er Pertuisots
Plush and lush in the context of Beaune. Deep red fruit, esp ripe cherry along with some vanilla and a little kerosene on the effusive nose. Smooth on the palate with cherries and even some cherry liquor but sufficient acid to keep it lifted. Nice depth and keeps that density as it flows across the palate. More polished than many Beaunes I’ve tasted (reminded me somewhat of a Rhys pinot) but highly enjoyable and providing a lot of drinking pleasure right off the cork pull. 14% abv
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