After being shut down at Quince in our bid to bring in three Burgs, we made our way to the relatively new restaurant Nua in North Beach for a red Burgundy and whatever dinner with the usual suspects.
First up was a 2006 Vacheron Sancerre, extremely young and primary, but literally bursting with intense mineral and citrus flavors, a great way to get those taste receptors firing on full power. I am not sure this will ever develop in to a particularly complex wine, but I imagine it should drink very well for quite some years.
Next up was supposed to be a 2004 Saint Romain from Domaine Germain Pere et Fils on the recommendation of Sharon Bowman, but they had just sold out the day before. So we opted for a 2005 Weingut Bründlmayer Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein, which I thought was drinking beautifully already, with nicely balanced soft fruit and acidity on the palate and a delicately nuanced floral nose. As a follow-on to the brisk acidity of the Sancerre, this provided a nice transition to the more complex aged red Burgundies that came up next.
Next up was the 1990 Nuits St Georges shootout. Paired against the 1990 Faiveley Nuits St. Georges les Chaignots was an Ambroise Nuits St. Georges les Vaucrains. The Faiveley was showing very well, better in my opinion than a Hospice de Nuits NSG les St Georges Cuvee G. Faiveley from a couple of nights before. On the nose, notes of soy and mushroom, with delicate red berry aromas and a touch of saddle leather. A touch of oxidation seemed to lurk there, but never intensified, and the bottle showed as well with the last drop as it did at the beginning. Deeper, more powerful on the palate, with a higher level of tannin and minerality as well, was the 1990 Ambroise Nuits St Georges les Vaucrains. Very fresh and pure red berry aromas on the nose, just slightly blacker in character than the Chaignots, this just kept getting stronger and stronger with time in the glass. This should continue to improve with bottle age.
We also included a 1985 L. Latour Mazis-Chambertin, but it was oxidized, the red fruit on the palate seriously faded. A second bottle with the same provenance showed exactly the same oxidation, leading us to the following alert:
--------------------> CONSUMER ALERT <---------------------
Better pass on these...
As a substitute, we ordered a 2001 Fornacina Brunello di Montalcino off the list. Maybe not much of a match for the older Burgundies we were drinking, still this was showing quite well, with impressive depth and structure on the palate and surprisingly expressive nose of violets.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tasting at Nua
A group of six convened at Nua Restaurant in the North Beach section of San Francisco to sample various Burgundies. The wine service was spectacular for our group, and was matched by some top-notch cuisine that paired very nicely with the older and younger Burgundy fare being tasted.
First up were two white Burgundies that did nothing to allay my fears that I am becoming too uncritical with age. Both beautiful wines in my opinion, but quite different in style. The 2000 R&V Dauvissat Chablis la Forest was pale straw yellow in color, with a surprisingly delicate nose of quinine, finely comminuted rock dust, and a touch of white flower just beginning to emerge. The quinine was there on the palate as well (got my malaria treatment), merging nicely with the delicate mineral character on the finish. Not a blockbuster wine, in fact quite feminine and elegant in style, I thought this was great. The second bottle was the more full bodied 1999 Remi Jobard Meursault les Genevrières, distinctly darker in color than the Dauvissat Chablis, and with intense mid-palate flavors of citrus and apples lifted by the racy acidity. Faint tropical fruit notes show on the aromatic finish, along with an oxidative note (which nobody else at the table commented on) that remained in the background. Absolutely delicious wine. Tough to choose between these two wines (if you had to), both performing very nicely in their own different styles.
Next up were the reds, including a 1996 Arlaud Clos de la Roche Cuvée Unique, which started out spectacularly with a cascading nose of ripe red fruit. The palate was a bit less impressive, showing the slightly excessive acidity and austerity of some of the 1996s. Most also thought this wine did not hold up so well with time in the glass, as the ripe red fruit on the nose faded and the oak treatment and volatility of the wine moved to the foreground. By the end of the glass, I thought the oak treatment was excessive and the wine suffered as a result.
Next up were three Clos Vougeots: the 1990 and 1993 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot and the 1998 V. Girardin Clos Vougeot. The 1990 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot le Grand Monpertui showed an expressive but slightly volatile nose dominated by dark fruit and minerals. On the palate, the dark fruit presents itself in a slightly acidic, austere package that is not exactly what I expected given the general characteristics of the vintage. This should improve with further bottle aging, but the wine suffers a bit in comparison to the depth and roundness one finds in the 1993 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot le Grand Monpertui, the WOTN for most (maybe all) of the tasters present. Here we find another step up in both concentration and balance, with smoky spice notes, forest floor, and dark chocolate emerging on the slightly reserved but very pure nose dominated by black fruit. This wine held up beautifully with time in the glass, but really needs another five years or so to develop more fully. But the depth and incipient complexity are all there. Great stuff! Less impressive to my mind was the 1998 Girardin Clos Vougeot, which showed a sort of rough, grainy texture when first tasted, almost suggesting that it had not yet worked off all of its CO2. This black fruit-dominated wine improved with time in the glass as the rough edges faded (due to the loss of CO2?), but the mid-palate depth and balance was simply not there IMO, although some of the tasters ranked this as their 2nd wine of the night. Still, this might improve substantially with some additional age, so maybe final judgment should be reserved.
Last up among the red Burgundies was a 1990 Hospice de Nuits Nuits St. Georges les St Georges Cuvée Faiveley. We never did figure out whether this was really a Domaine wine, or negociant, but it showed quite well, with an impressive, very pure nose of red and black fruit and the most tannic profile of any of the wines we tasted. The concentration on the palate was noteworthy, but in a distinctly different style from the almost creamy, smoky 1993 Gros Clos Vougeot. With the Faiveley NSG les St Georges, the black and red fruit presents itself in an almost stern if not quite austere style, and in the end one has the sense of a sort of schoolmasterly style of wine that delivers the goods in a less than easy, forgiving fashion. Did this need more bottle age to show its stuff, or is it really just a mid-level wine?
First up were two white Burgundies that did nothing to allay my fears that I am becoming too uncritical with age. Both beautiful wines in my opinion, but quite different in style. The 2000 R&V Dauvissat Chablis la Forest was pale straw yellow in color, with a surprisingly delicate nose of quinine, finely comminuted rock dust, and a touch of white flower just beginning to emerge. The quinine was there on the palate as well (got my malaria treatment), merging nicely with the delicate mineral character on the finish. Not a blockbuster wine, in fact quite feminine and elegant in style, I thought this was great. The second bottle was the more full bodied 1999 Remi Jobard Meursault les Genevrières, distinctly darker in color than the Dauvissat Chablis, and with intense mid-palate flavors of citrus and apples lifted by the racy acidity. Faint tropical fruit notes show on the aromatic finish, along with an oxidative note (which nobody else at the table commented on) that remained in the background. Absolutely delicious wine. Tough to choose between these two wines (if you had to), both performing very nicely in their own different styles.
Next up were the reds, including a 1996 Arlaud Clos de la Roche Cuvée Unique, which started out spectacularly with a cascading nose of ripe red fruit. The palate was a bit less impressive, showing the slightly excessive acidity and austerity of some of the 1996s. Most also thought this wine did not hold up so well with time in the glass, as the ripe red fruit on the nose faded and the oak treatment and volatility of the wine moved to the foreground. By the end of the glass, I thought the oak treatment was excessive and the wine suffered as a result.
Next up were three Clos Vougeots: the 1990 and 1993 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot and the 1998 V. Girardin Clos Vougeot. The 1990 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot le Grand Monpertui showed an expressive but slightly volatile nose dominated by dark fruit and minerals. On the palate, the dark fruit presents itself in a slightly acidic, austere package that is not exactly what I expected given the general characteristics of the vintage. This should improve with further bottle aging, but the wine suffers a bit in comparison to the depth and roundness one finds in the 1993 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot le Grand Monpertui, the WOTN for most (maybe all) of the tasters present. Here we find another step up in both concentration and balance, with smoky spice notes, forest floor, and dark chocolate emerging on the slightly reserved but very pure nose dominated by black fruit. This wine held up beautifully with time in the glass, but really needs another five years or so to develop more fully. But the depth and incipient complexity are all there. Great stuff! Less impressive to my mind was the 1998 Girardin Clos Vougeot, which showed a sort of rough, grainy texture when first tasted, almost suggesting that it had not yet worked off all of its CO2. This black fruit-dominated wine improved with time in the glass as the rough edges faded (due to the loss of CO2?), but the mid-palate depth and balance was simply not there IMO, although some of the tasters ranked this as their 2nd wine of the night. Still, this might improve substantially with some additional age, so maybe final judgment should be reserved.
Last up among the red Burgundies was a 1990 Hospice de Nuits Nuits St. Georges les St Georges Cuvée Faiveley. We never did figure out whether this was really a Domaine wine, or negociant, but it showed quite well, with an impressive, very pure nose of red and black fruit and the most tannic profile of any of the wines we tasted. The concentration on the palate was noteworthy, but in a distinctly different style from the almost creamy, smoky 1993 Gros Clos Vougeot. With the Faiveley NSG les St Georges, the black and red fruit presents itself in an almost stern if not quite austere style, and in the end one has the sense of a sort of schoolmasterly style of wine that delivers the goods in a less than easy, forgiving fashion. Did this need more bottle age to show its stuff, or is it really just a mid-level wine?
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Chambertin on Christmas Day
On Christmas Day we broke out the good stuff—a recently purchased bottle of 2000 Charlopin-Parizat Chambertin. Normally I might not post a single note on my blog, since one would think such things are best left to the Bulletin Boards. But 69 views on the erobertParker (Squires) Board? That just doesn’t do justice to this wine.
Friday, November 23, 2007
A Visit to Domaine Pegau
While attending a scientific conference at the spectacular Palais des Papes in Avignon, we had an afternoon off on Wednesday, giving a group of us the chance to visit a couple of Domaines in Chateauneuf du Pape. We arrived at Domaine Pegau about 1/2 hour before Laurence Feraud returned from the vendange, giving us an opportunity to watch the transfer of the day's harvest of Vieilles Vignes to vats. Everybody seemed to be quite pleased with the ripeness and quality of the grapes, so it looks like 2005 will be another excellent year. At about 5:45 PM, Laurence Feraud returned and we made our way into the cellars for a tasting. If possible, my non-expert (oenologically speaking) geochemical colleagues were even more blown away by this lady Laurence Feraud than I was--after a full day in the vineyards, she came across almost as a force of nature, with a Proustian monologue on wine style and making past and present, laced with anecdotes about the early years when she first took over from her father at the Domaine. She provided some interesting thoughts on the styles of her own wines, but also how they compared to many of the other CdP and even California wines that she loves. And, of course, this masterful verbal performance was interlaced with barrel and bottle tasting of a representative selection of her wines, ranging from the Port-like 2003 da Capo (not exactly my style, but clearly a great wine in the making), to the striking minerality and spiciness of the 2001 Cuvee Laurence. I have to wonder why Bob Parker has questioned the bottling of the Cuvee Laurence given the Cuvee da Capo, but to my mind these wines are completely different in style, although I have to admit that I am comparing different vintages here (2003 da Capo with 2001 and possibly 2004 Cuvee Laurence).
- 2004 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Laurence Feraud said that this barrel of the 2004 was most likely destined for the Cuvee Laurence, but who knows at this stage where it will end up. Nearly black in color, dense, extracted, this wine shows very firm acidity and some powerful tannins. A bit difficult for some of the tasters in our group because of the high acidity and tannins, I thought this wine showed great potential. Very sharply delineated, with a great mid-palate dominated by dark, dense fruit, this wine could be great after some barrel and bottle aging. Quite impressive in my opinion and one of my favorites of the tasting... - 2003 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
A barrel from clay-rich soil, this sample was strikingly dark in color, almost as dark as the 2004. Sweeter on the palate and less obviously acidic, this wine still showed some substantial tannins. As I recall, Laurence Feraud said that they had added the maximum tartaric acid to this wine and it showed, with a sweet dense core balanced by more acid and tannin than I expected for the vintage. On the nose, quite prominent licorice, but with sweet extract dominating the mid-palate, this was quite impressive and I am glad I sprang for 6 bottles earlier in the year. The wine, however, has not quite finished it malolactic fermentation, thus the delay in bottling. Laurence Feraud said that the pebbly soil tends to produce higher alcohol wines with slightly higher residual sugars, the clay-rich soil a lower alcohol wine. - 2003 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Laurence Feraud said this barrel of the da Capo would most likely be blended with about 20% Grenache from some of the pebbly soils, providing some additional structure. The barrel sample tasted here showed a distinctly Port-like quality, with multiple layers of sweet, dense fruit. Great mouthfeel, this wine positively coats the palate, almost as if the wine were congealing Napalm-like in the mouth. Otherwise, not exactly my style at this point with its high alcohol and apparent sweetness (I know, residual sugars are probably quite low here). But this wine may be a different animal after final blending and some years in the bottle. The raw materials are certainly there... - 2001 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Laurence Feraud cracked a bottle of the 2001 Cuvee Laurence at the end of our tour/tasting. For me, this was the wine that showed best, with the expressive nose showing a distinct spiciness from the time spent in oak barrels, but also very distinct notes of damp earth and dust. In the mouth, very bright and delineated, with beautifully ripe fruit at the core, this struck me as similar overall in style to the Cuvee Reservee from 2001 after 30 minutes or so in the glass, but with a brighter, more minerally character. Certainly my wine of the tasting, I wonder whether this wine has not been under-rated a bit by the critics. I could drink this until the cows come home...
LaLa Night in San Francisco
A group of six members of the Lamorinda Old World Wine Geeks (LOWWG, or should this be LOWWBG for “Boring Geeks”?), with Board members David Sankaran and Lou Rittenhouse and spouses, convened at Myth Restaurant in San Francisco for a tasting of northern Rhone wines. Myth is a hot new destination in the Embarcadero district, reasonably priced, but delivering food and service that competes favorably with the top restaurants in the city. And the wine service, overseen by Wine Director Alex Fox, was impeccable, with ample space for food and stemware at the oversized table.
We began with two white wines served in sequence against a variety of dishes, then proceeded to two small flights of reds, the first consisting of the 1989 Chave Hermitage and Jaboulet la Chapelle, the second with the 1988 Guigal la Mouline paired with the 1994 Guigal la Turque. All of the red Rhones showed beautifully.
2004 Fevre Chablis Fourchaume Vignoble de Vaulorent
This straw yellow wine is already accessible, with a sappy, round almost creamy presence on the palate backed by good minerality and acidity on the back end. I expected a more acidic and linear wine perhaps given the vintage, but this Grand Cru quality wine reminded me more of the Preuses, with its sappy volume and fruit, than it did of the more austere and minerally Valmur and Clos.
2004 Guigal Condrieu
An intermezzo here, with this even softer and more mellifluous wine showing the first signs of a floral nose. In the mouth, very sappy and round, with the orchard fruit notes lingering on the finish. Maybe never destined for greatness, still this provided a very nice contrast to the style of the Chablis.
1989 Hermitage
1989 Chave Hermitage
Double decanted about 3 hours before the flight, this dark ruby red/purple wine turned in a bravura performance and was probably most taster’s second WOTN. The wine showed a fragrant expressive nose of blackberry and forest floor, with high-toned notes of spice and violets. In the mouth, wonderfully alive, with the sheer concentration of ripe fruit admirably balanced by its bright acidity and the almost gravelly mineral tastes on the back end. A great wine, with plenty of years ahead of it.
1989 Jaboulet la Chappelle
With an even deeper, more opaque purple color, this wine showed a slightly more reserved nose than the Chave, but with dark fruit and violet notes that were equally deep in my opinion. In the mouth, I was really struck by the great depth and purity of the fruit that seems to have undergone elevage in granite barrels, suffering only in comparison to the Chave in its slightly lower acidity and brightness. This wine would certainly benefit from some more years in the bottle, although I am not convinced it will ever rise quite to the level of the Chave Hermitage, but this is also a stylistic preference.
Guigal LaLas
1988 Guigal la Mouline
What can you say here, this one lived up fully to its stellar reputation. This wine was opened at the restaurant about 1 hour before the flight, with no decanting, so as to enjoy its evolution in the glass. And evolve it did, with the fragrant, even explosive nose of cassis, violets, bacon fat, and mineral dust continuing to build in power over the course of the evening. Just before we consumed the last drops of this wine, the aromas still cascaded out of the glass, almost as if a dense, violet-infused gas were displacing the local atmosphere. The 10% or so Viognier component in the Mouline seems to have paid off in spades, as this wine struck me as a sort of theoretical hybrid between a classic northern Rhone Syrah (in the style of the Chave or Chappelle) and a great Sauterne with its aromatic complexity and expressiveness. Equally spectacular in the mouth, the wine shows fantastic purity of dark cassis and blackberry, crushed stone, and spice framed by perfect levels of acidity. The result is fireworks in the mouth and this wine makes clear why no young wine can ever compete in sheer energy and brightness with a great wine drinking at its peak. A great great wine by probably anybody’s standards, clearly the WOTN...
1994 Guigal la Turque
Paired with anything but the 1988 la Mouline and perhaps the Chave, this wine would normally easily vie for the title of WOTN. Aromatically, most similar in style to the Mouline in its densely fragrant cassis/violet nose, even if it was more reserved. On the palate, the wine shows great purity and concentration and depth, but again with a bit less expressiveness due to its relative youth. The minerally structure of this wine is impressive, and only time will tell whether it will develop the same level of aromatic fireworks as the ’88 Mouline, but I could easily see this as a great wine in 5-10 years.
On to Bacar
Perhaps energized by all the great Rhones and the spectacle of all those monied relative youngsters at Myth, we decided to grab a quick cab down to Bacar to sample the 2003 Chave Hermitage to see what all the talk was about.
2003 Chave Hermitage
We drank this after only a few minutes in the decanter, although it evolved perceptibly in the glass. Dense inky purple in color, with powerfully dense aromas of soy sauce, plum, and blackberry. What a mouthful of wine!! Dense, beautifully extracted, this wine seems to redefine “unctuous” with its palate coating elixir of dark viscous cassis and minerals. The fruit is here is extremely ripe, but everyone agreed that there was no trace of heat or overripeness or heaviness at all to the wine. As David said, amazingly light on its feet considering the sheer volume and depth here. The overall balance on this wine really is impeccable, with perfect levels of acidity and mineral structure matching the decadent levels of ripe fruit. We were all somewhat mystified as to why anybody would consider this a controversial wine—another great northern Rhone in the making. The only additional comment, however, is that this is still ridiculously primary, so I would not personally open another one for 15 years if I was lucky enough to own a bottle.
We began with two white wines served in sequence against a variety of dishes, then proceeded to two small flights of reds, the first consisting of the 1989 Chave Hermitage and Jaboulet la Chapelle, the second with the 1988 Guigal la Mouline paired with the 1994 Guigal la Turque. All of the red Rhones showed beautifully.
2004 Fevre Chablis Fourchaume Vignoble de Vaulorent
This straw yellow wine is already accessible, with a sappy, round almost creamy presence on the palate backed by good minerality and acidity on the back end. I expected a more acidic and linear wine perhaps given the vintage, but this Grand Cru quality wine reminded me more of the Preuses, with its sappy volume and fruit, than it did of the more austere and minerally Valmur and Clos.
2004 Guigal Condrieu
An intermezzo here, with this even softer and more mellifluous wine showing the first signs of a floral nose. In the mouth, very sappy and round, with the orchard fruit notes lingering on the finish. Maybe never destined for greatness, still this provided a very nice contrast to the style of the Chablis.
1989 Hermitage
1989 Chave Hermitage
Double decanted about 3 hours before the flight, this dark ruby red/purple wine turned in a bravura performance and was probably most taster’s second WOTN. The wine showed a fragrant expressive nose of blackberry and forest floor, with high-toned notes of spice and violets. In the mouth, wonderfully alive, with the sheer concentration of ripe fruit admirably balanced by its bright acidity and the almost gravelly mineral tastes on the back end. A great wine, with plenty of years ahead of it.
1989 Jaboulet la Chappelle
With an even deeper, more opaque purple color, this wine showed a slightly more reserved nose than the Chave, but with dark fruit and violet notes that were equally deep in my opinion. In the mouth, I was really struck by the great depth and purity of the fruit that seems to have undergone elevage in granite barrels, suffering only in comparison to the Chave in its slightly lower acidity and brightness. This wine would certainly benefit from some more years in the bottle, although I am not convinced it will ever rise quite to the level of the Chave Hermitage, but this is also a stylistic preference.
Guigal LaLas
1988 Guigal la Mouline
What can you say here, this one lived up fully to its stellar reputation. This wine was opened at the restaurant about 1 hour before the flight, with no decanting, so as to enjoy its evolution in the glass. And evolve it did, with the fragrant, even explosive nose of cassis, violets, bacon fat, and mineral dust continuing to build in power over the course of the evening. Just before we consumed the last drops of this wine, the aromas still cascaded out of the glass, almost as if a dense, violet-infused gas were displacing the local atmosphere. The 10% or so Viognier component in the Mouline seems to have paid off in spades, as this wine struck me as a sort of theoretical hybrid between a classic northern Rhone Syrah (in the style of the Chave or Chappelle) and a great Sauterne with its aromatic complexity and expressiveness. Equally spectacular in the mouth, the wine shows fantastic purity of dark cassis and blackberry, crushed stone, and spice framed by perfect levels of acidity. The result is fireworks in the mouth and this wine makes clear why no young wine can ever compete in sheer energy and brightness with a great wine drinking at its peak. A great great wine by probably anybody’s standards, clearly the WOTN...
1994 Guigal la Turque
Paired with anything but the 1988 la Mouline and perhaps the Chave, this wine would normally easily vie for the title of WOTN. Aromatically, most similar in style to the Mouline in its densely fragrant cassis/violet nose, even if it was more reserved. On the palate, the wine shows great purity and concentration and depth, but again with a bit less expressiveness due to its relative youth. The minerally structure of this wine is impressive, and only time will tell whether it will develop the same level of aromatic fireworks as the ’88 Mouline, but I could easily see this as a great wine in 5-10 years.
On to Bacar
Perhaps energized by all the great Rhones and the spectacle of all those monied relative youngsters at Myth, we decided to grab a quick cab down to Bacar to sample the 2003 Chave Hermitage to see what all the talk was about.
2003 Chave Hermitage
We drank this after only a few minutes in the decanter, although it evolved perceptibly in the glass. Dense inky purple in color, with powerfully dense aromas of soy sauce, plum, and blackberry. What a mouthful of wine!! Dense, beautifully extracted, this wine seems to redefine “unctuous” with its palate coating elixir of dark viscous cassis and minerals. The fruit is here is extremely ripe, but everyone agreed that there was no trace of heat or overripeness or heaviness at all to the wine. As David said, amazingly light on its feet considering the sheer volume and depth here. The overall balance on this wine really is impeccable, with perfect levels of acidity and mineral structure matching the decadent levels of ripe fruit. We were all somewhat mystified as to why anybody would consider this a controversial wine—another great northern Rhone in the making. The only additional comment, however, is that this is still ridiculously primary, so I would not personally open another one for 15 years if I was lucky enough to own a bottle.
Burg Night in the Hills
The Lamorinda Old World Wine Geeks assembled for another tasting, this time with a focus on Burgundy and Pinot Noir. Lamorinda is a cul de sac in the East Bay Hills (cul de sac in the original French sense—interested readers are referred to Roman Polanski’s film of that name), a forgotten community with a space warp to the gentle slopes of Burgundy and the deep gravels of Bordeaux. Along with the spectacular food prepared by Nilla (I particularly recall the shrimp in a flavorful Swedish style sole walevska sauce and the coq au vin), we had an impressive suite of wines, with not a bad bottle in the lot.
We began with Dave Sankaran’s house champagne, the Krug NV, which paired beautifully with the appetizer brought by Dave and Antonette, thin slivers of beef on toast with a wasabi-based topping. The Krug was in fine shape, with the signature yeast and brioche nose and vibrant, mouth-coating flavors making for the perfect aperitif.
The Krug was followed by (or in the case of some impatient tasters, overlapped with) a 2004 Alesia Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. This is one of Dave Sankaran’s favorite wines and I had never had it before. This shows an impressive nose of red Pinot fruit infused with a distinct spiciness (with AllSpice being the actual aroma we eventually fixed upon). In the mouth, this wine is light on its feet, but intensely flavored and nicely delineated, with the mineral notes complementing the spice and red Pinot character. Very impressive, I will be in search of this one, or others from Rhys Vineyards…
To pair with the first course, the shrimp in sole walevska, we had the 1992 Leflaive Puligny Montrachet les Pucelles, a beautiful bottle evidently close to its peak. Aromas of peach, pear, and tropical fruit blended with more northerly notes of white flower and soil on this beautiful wine, probably the number 2 of the night for me. Despite the tropical notes that impact the palate as well, the Puligny acidity and vibrancy were still there, especially on the long finish. Great stuff!
We then proceeded to a flight of three aged Burgundies, a 1980 Leroy Bonnes Mares, a 1985 Jadot Gevrey Chambertin Estournelles St Jacques, and a 1989 Rousseau Chambertin.
The 1980 Leroy Bonne Mares early on showed an attractive nose of mushrooms, underbrush and red Pinot, but seemed to fade into a more one-dimensional profile with time in the glass. The wine showed reasonable concentration and balance, just not much to get interested in, especially up against the other two Burgundies.
The 1985 Jadot Estournelles St. Jacques was much livelier and longer lived on the nose and in the mouth, with bright red Pinot/Gevrey notes, accompanied by faint truffle and underbrush. This wine was in fine shape, and while it never scaled the heights of the Rousseau, I think it was my wife’s favorite red wine of the night with its airy vibrancy and delineation.
Well, we moved to a new level (IMO) with the 1989 Rousseau Chambertin. This bottle showed an exquisitely detailed, ineffable nose dominated by truffles, mushrooms, and shape-shifting forest floor/underbrush notes that seemed at times to bring in an olive component. Equally detailed and multi-layered on the palate, the vibrant red fruit merged seamlessly with the truffle/mushroom flavors, delivering a finish that just would not quit. There must have been a match between my genome sequence and that of this wine, because this wine really sent me off--if you put this wine on the opposite site of the room, you would have had to have tied me to the mast like Odysseus to keep me away from it. I see that Don Cornwell rated the wine 94 points, which makes me think I would be afraid to try one of his 99 or 100 pointers for fear of bursting into flames. One of the greatest Burgundies (and wines) I have ever had…
As a blind Pinot, Lou Rittenhouse served the 1999 Dehlinger Pinot Noir Octagon Vineyard. This wine compared quite favorably with the older Burgundies, even if it really needed some more time in the bottle. The nose of red Pinot fruit was just beginning to develop secondary characteristics. In the mouth, the beautifully ripe fruit comes across as intensely flavored but light on its feet, with none of the heaviness I associate with some Pinot from this year. Round, complex and palate-coating, this wine was probably second only to the Rousseau among the reds of the night.
Maybe because we had had enough wine, but the 1990 Suduiraut, while pleasant to drink and in good shape, just did not get me excited. The wine showed excellent palate-coating viscosity and an abundance of tropical and peach fruit notes, but seemed to lack the complexity that shows up in the better examples from this chateau (I can’t help thinking of the 2001 here).
We began with Dave Sankaran’s house champagne, the Krug NV, which paired beautifully with the appetizer brought by Dave and Antonette, thin slivers of beef on toast with a wasabi-based topping. The Krug was in fine shape, with the signature yeast and brioche nose and vibrant, mouth-coating flavors making for the perfect aperitif.
The Krug was followed by (or in the case of some impatient tasters, overlapped with) a 2004 Alesia Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. This is one of Dave Sankaran’s favorite wines and I had never had it before. This shows an impressive nose of red Pinot fruit infused with a distinct spiciness (with AllSpice being the actual aroma we eventually fixed upon). In the mouth, this wine is light on its feet, but intensely flavored and nicely delineated, with the mineral notes complementing the spice and red Pinot character. Very impressive, I will be in search of this one, or others from Rhys Vineyards…
To pair with the first course, the shrimp in sole walevska, we had the 1992 Leflaive Puligny Montrachet les Pucelles, a beautiful bottle evidently close to its peak. Aromas of peach, pear, and tropical fruit blended with more northerly notes of white flower and soil on this beautiful wine, probably the number 2 of the night for me. Despite the tropical notes that impact the palate as well, the Puligny acidity and vibrancy were still there, especially on the long finish. Great stuff!
We then proceeded to a flight of three aged Burgundies, a 1980 Leroy Bonnes Mares, a 1985 Jadot Gevrey Chambertin Estournelles St Jacques, and a 1989 Rousseau Chambertin.
The 1980 Leroy Bonne Mares early on showed an attractive nose of mushrooms, underbrush and red Pinot, but seemed to fade into a more one-dimensional profile with time in the glass. The wine showed reasonable concentration and balance, just not much to get interested in, especially up against the other two Burgundies.
The 1985 Jadot Estournelles St. Jacques was much livelier and longer lived on the nose and in the mouth, with bright red Pinot/Gevrey notes, accompanied by faint truffle and underbrush. This wine was in fine shape, and while it never scaled the heights of the Rousseau, I think it was my wife’s favorite red wine of the night with its airy vibrancy and delineation.
Well, we moved to a new level (IMO) with the 1989 Rousseau Chambertin. This bottle showed an exquisitely detailed, ineffable nose dominated by truffles, mushrooms, and shape-shifting forest floor/underbrush notes that seemed at times to bring in an olive component. Equally detailed and multi-layered on the palate, the vibrant red fruit merged seamlessly with the truffle/mushroom flavors, delivering a finish that just would not quit. There must have been a match between my genome sequence and that of this wine, because this wine really sent me off--if you put this wine on the opposite site of the room, you would have had to have tied me to the mast like Odysseus to keep me away from it. I see that Don Cornwell rated the wine 94 points, which makes me think I would be afraid to try one of his 99 or 100 pointers for fear of bursting into flames. One of the greatest Burgundies (and wines) I have ever had…
As a blind Pinot, Lou Rittenhouse served the 1999 Dehlinger Pinot Noir Octagon Vineyard. This wine compared quite favorably with the older Burgundies, even if it really needed some more time in the bottle. The nose of red Pinot fruit was just beginning to develop secondary characteristics. In the mouth, the beautifully ripe fruit comes across as intensely flavored but light on its feet, with none of the heaviness I associate with some Pinot from this year. Round, complex and palate-coating, this wine was probably second only to the Rousseau among the reds of the night.
Maybe because we had had enough wine, but the 1990 Suduiraut, while pleasant to drink and in good shape, just did not get me excited. The wine showed excellent palate-coating viscosity and an abundance of tropical and peach fruit notes, but seemed to lack the complexity that shows up in the better examples from this chateau (I can’t help thinking of the 2001 here).
Wine tasting with the eminence grise Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac
In June of 2007 we had the good fortune to visit Domaine Dujac in Morey St. Denis. Somehow I neglected to get the exact street address, so we headed to Morey hoping to find somebody who could provide us with directions. After a couple of U-turns (Morey St. Denis is a small town), we ended up at Domaine Ponsot, where Madame Ponsot(?) told us we needed to head to the other side of town. I was thinking of offering to provide my opinion of the 2005 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes, but we were running short of time, so I had to pass…
Our original appointment was with Jeremy Seysses, but he was otherwise occupied, so we were turned over to the Dujac eminence grise Jacques Seysses, who interleaved some background on how the Dujac approach to winemaking had changed over the years with a tasting of a suite of 2006 and 2005 wines. Seysses was celebrating his 40th year of wine making this year. The major change seems to have involved an evolution to a much more environmentally friendly form of grape cultivation and wine making as compared to the practice in the 1970s—their current philosophy is very much one of acting as custodians of the land, interfering as little as possible in the overall wine growing and making process. The other change involves the winemaking team, which now includes Jacques Seysses, his two sons, and his daughter-in-law Diana. Diana is apparently professionally trained at UC Davis in enology and they have built a laboratory for her, which is now used to complement the more subjective weekly sampling of the grapes by the team.
We started with some of the 2006 wines still in the barrel, passing on any that were still undergoing malolactic fermentation. The 2006 wines from Dujac turned out to be quite impressive, perhaps only a half a notch or so below the stellar 2005 wines. First up was the 2006 Dujac Vosne-Romanee Malconsorts, a new vineyard recently added to the lineup—very much dominated at this stage by black fruit, with dark cherry and raspberry on the nose, this struck me as a sort of hypothetical blend of the fatter, lusher Jadot Vosne Romanee Suchots and the darker, leaner Jadot Boudot we had tasted the Friday before. I was perhaps a little surprised not to see more of that lush Vosne character, but perhaps this wine will continue to fatten up in the barrel and bottle.
Next up was the 2006 Dujac Gevrey Chambertin les Combottes, a bright, beautifully delineated wine dominated by red fruit that offered a real contrast with the black fruit of the Malconsorts. The wine was well balanced, with a sappy mouth feel balanced by good acidity and manageable tannins. This Premier Cru was followed by a barrel sample of the 2006 Dujac Clos St. Denis, which came across as even rounder and sweeter in the mouth, although not necessarily longer than the Combottes. We ended our tasting of the 2006 barrel samples with the even firmer, more structured 2006 Dujac Clos de la Roche, which perhaps as expected, offered the most complete wine of the lineup, combining structure, power, and finesse all in a single package.
We then moved on to some of the spectacular 2005 Dujac wines, beginning with the 2005 Dujac Nuits-St-Georges aux Thorey, a Premier Cru vineyard that Dujac sold as part of their recent acquisition of the Malconsorts and additional Beaux Monts vineyards. Jacques Seysses suggested that they might have made a mistake in selling this property, and certainly the 2005 aux Thorey was a great success, with aromas of black raspberry followed by intense black fruit flavors in the mouth. As with all of the successful 2005 Dujac wines, the hallmark of this wine was really the sheer intensity of flavors, which emerge without any suggestion of over-extraction. The wines have a good core of tannin and acidity for aging, but the ripe sweet fruit at the core of the wine is unmistakable. Next up was the spectacular 2005 Dujac Vosne-Romanee les Beaux Monts, a wine for the black fruit lover out there. I suspect this wine would satisfy even a Bordeaux lover like Jeff Leve with its beautiful extraction and flavor intensity, a sort of Burgundian Chateau Angelus. The palate feel on this wine was remarkable, conveying almost a sense of residual solid black fruit lingering on the impressively long finish. This was followed by the 2005 Dujac Chambolle Musigny les Gruenchers, a tiny step down in flavor intensity from the Beaumonts, but perhaps making up for it in the roundness and sweetness of wine on the palate. Here the finish was driven by the sappiness and viscosity of the sweet red and black fruit on the palate, a beautifully balanced wine that I would gladly own if I can find a bottle. Then a bottle of the 2005 Dujac Charmes-Chambertin, which I found a bit less expressive at this stage than the rest of those tested, but still some very classy juice. Last up was the 2005 Dujac Clos de la Roche, which again was the most complete wine in the lineup, here combining all of the essential features of the foregoing wine, with sheer flavor intensity, sappy mouthfeel, and structure presented in beautiful balance. Needless to say, we dispensed with the spitting at this stage and Seysses was gentleman enough to turn down my offer to trade my first born for some bottles of this wine.
As mind-blowing as the 2005 Dujac Clos de la Roche was (and the others in the 2005 lineup were not far behind), it was very nice to be offered the chance to taste a more mature Clos de la Roche for reference. Seysses pulled out a bottle of the 1998 Dujac Clos de la Roche, a lighter wine in appearance, but with that trademark Dujac sappiness and sweet fruit belying the pale color of the wine. Here the red fruit have moved to the forefront on the expressive nose and palate, coming in cascading, intoxicating waves. This bottle is drinking great now and the Dujac lover out there may want to be on the alert for any these floating around on the market right now…
So we had a great tasting at Dujac, where the spectacular 2005 and impressive 2006 wines really demonstrate that this Domaine is at the top of their game. And the winemaking team seems to be positioned to continue to make great wine…
Our original appointment was with Jeremy Seysses, but he was otherwise occupied, so we were turned over to the Dujac eminence grise Jacques Seysses, who interleaved some background on how the Dujac approach to winemaking had changed over the years with a tasting of a suite of 2006 and 2005 wines. Seysses was celebrating his 40th year of wine making this year. The major change seems to have involved an evolution to a much more environmentally friendly form of grape cultivation and wine making as compared to the practice in the 1970s—their current philosophy is very much one of acting as custodians of the land, interfering as little as possible in the overall wine growing and making process. The other change involves the winemaking team, which now includes Jacques Seysses, his two sons, and his daughter-in-law Diana. Diana is apparently professionally trained at UC Davis in enology and they have built a laboratory for her, which is now used to complement the more subjective weekly sampling of the grapes by the team.
We started with some of the 2006 wines still in the barrel, passing on any that were still undergoing malolactic fermentation. The 2006 wines from Dujac turned out to be quite impressive, perhaps only a half a notch or so below the stellar 2005 wines. First up was the 2006 Dujac Vosne-Romanee Malconsorts, a new vineyard recently added to the lineup—very much dominated at this stage by black fruit, with dark cherry and raspberry on the nose, this struck me as a sort of hypothetical blend of the fatter, lusher Jadot Vosne Romanee Suchots and the darker, leaner Jadot Boudot we had tasted the Friday before. I was perhaps a little surprised not to see more of that lush Vosne character, but perhaps this wine will continue to fatten up in the barrel and bottle.
Next up was the 2006 Dujac Gevrey Chambertin les Combottes, a bright, beautifully delineated wine dominated by red fruit that offered a real contrast with the black fruit of the Malconsorts. The wine was well balanced, with a sappy mouth feel balanced by good acidity and manageable tannins. This Premier Cru was followed by a barrel sample of the 2006 Dujac Clos St. Denis, which came across as even rounder and sweeter in the mouth, although not necessarily longer than the Combottes. We ended our tasting of the 2006 barrel samples with the even firmer, more structured 2006 Dujac Clos de la Roche, which perhaps as expected, offered the most complete wine of the lineup, combining structure, power, and finesse all in a single package.
We then moved on to some of the spectacular 2005 Dujac wines, beginning with the 2005 Dujac Nuits-St-Georges aux Thorey, a Premier Cru vineyard that Dujac sold as part of their recent acquisition of the Malconsorts and additional Beaux Monts vineyards. Jacques Seysses suggested that they might have made a mistake in selling this property, and certainly the 2005 aux Thorey was a great success, with aromas of black raspberry followed by intense black fruit flavors in the mouth. As with all of the successful 2005 Dujac wines, the hallmark of this wine was really the sheer intensity of flavors, which emerge without any suggestion of over-extraction. The wines have a good core of tannin and acidity for aging, but the ripe sweet fruit at the core of the wine is unmistakable. Next up was the spectacular 2005 Dujac Vosne-Romanee les Beaux Monts, a wine for the black fruit lover out there. I suspect this wine would satisfy even a Bordeaux lover like Jeff Leve with its beautiful extraction and flavor intensity, a sort of Burgundian Chateau Angelus. The palate feel on this wine was remarkable, conveying almost a sense of residual solid black fruit lingering on the impressively long finish. This was followed by the 2005 Dujac Chambolle Musigny les Gruenchers, a tiny step down in flavor intensity from the Beaumonts, but perhaps making up for it in the roundness and sweetness of wine on the palate. Here the finish was driven by the sappiness and viscosity of the sweet red and black fruit on the palate, a beautifully balanced wine that I would gladly own if I can find a bottle. Then a bottle of the 2005 Dujac Charmes-Chambertin, which I found a bit less expressive at this stage than the rest of those tested, but still some very classy juice. Last up was the 2005 Dujac Clos de la Roche, which again was the most complete wine in the lineup, here combining all of the essential features of the foregoing wine, with sheer flavor intensity, sappy mouthfeel, and structure presented in beautiful balance. Needless to say, we dispensed with the spitting at this stage and Seysses was gentleman enough to turn down my offer to trade my first born for some bottles of this wine.
As mind-blowing as the 2005 Dujac Clos de la Roche was (and the others in the 2005 lineup were not far behind), it was very nice to be offered the chance to taste a more mature Clos de la Roche for reference. Seysses pulled out a bottle of the 1998 Dujac Clos de la Roche, a lighter wine in appearance, but with that trademark Dujac sappiness and sweet fruit belying the pale color of the wine. Here the red fruit have moved to the forefront on the expressive nose and palate, coming in cascading, intoxicating waves. This bottle is drinking great now and the Dujac lover out there may want to be on the alert for any these floating around on the market right now…
So we had a great tasting at Dujac, where the spectacular 2005 and impressive 2006 wines really demonstrate that this Domaine is at the top of their game. And the winemaking team seems to be positioned to continue to make great wine…
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