’02 Burgundies Part 2 took place Thursday night at EWS, and this time we drank from the northernmost half of northern Burgundy. The wines were tasted blind, having been encased in brown paper bags prior to our arrival; the notes that follow were, as always, scratched down before the labels were revealed.
In the order we tasted they were:
1. Clos de la Roche, Hubert Lignier
· Nose: Currants, cinnamon, blue fruit, minerals, charcoal ash, roasted red apples
· Palate: Sharp edges, huge acids
2. Charmes Chambertin “Cuvée de Tres Vielles Vignes” Joseph Roty
· Nose: Lavender, boozy, Indian spice, medicinal spearmint
· Palate: Greenish tannins, hot, Huge acids, salami
3. Mazoyeres-Chambertin “Vieilles Vignes” Henri Perrot-Minot:
· Nose: Horseshit, rotting meat, cheese funk, roasted game, cardamom, caraway, creosote
· Palatte: Red fruit, dried flowers, hot, with sharply angled acids
4. Charmes-Chambertin, Claude Dugat:
· Nose: Latex paint, roses, instant cereal, chemicals, pretty simple
· Palate: Spicy, gripping mid-palate, well defined acidity
5. Clos de la Roche “Cuvée Vielles Vignes,” Domaine Ponsot:
· Nose: Indian spices, cod liver oil, General Tso’s chicken, melon rind, raspberries, caraway
· Palate: Unripe tannin, red apple skin
6. Clos de Tart, Mommessin:
· Nose: Latex paint, cherry, modeling clay, stones
· Palate: sweet juicy cherries, smoky
7. Chambertin Clos de Beze, Vincent Girardin
· Nose: Camphor, cherry
· Palate: nice ripe fruits, lyches, herbs
8. Chambertin Clos de Beze, Armand Rousseau:
· Nose: Latex paint, cherry liqueur
· Palate: Oolong tea, heavily extracted, green olives, black plums
9. Charemes-Chambetin, Geantet-Pansiot:
· Nose: Elegant, tea with lemon and honey
· Palate: Elegant, wholewheat bread, yeasts, cherry
10. Charemes-Chambetin, Bernard Dugat-Py:
· Nose: Creosote, game, blood, chocolate
· Palate: bracing acids, greeness
11. Close de la Roche “Vieilles Vignes,” Dominique Laurent:
· Nose: Fennel liqueur, tight and closed
· Palate: Supple, cellar, cinnamon, confections, a nervous wine
12. Charemes-Chambetin, Dupont Tisserandot:
· Nose: Chocolate, sharpened pencils
· Palate: Tight focus, deep extraction, boozy, way too slutty to be Burgundy
In the end I ranked the number 3 wine, Mazoyeres-Chambertin “Vieilles Vignes” by Henri Perrot-Minot, tops. My second favorite was number 9, Charemes-Chambetin, by Geantet-Pansiot, and my third favorite was number 2, the Charmes Chambertin “Cuvée de Tres Vielles Vignes” by Joseph Roty. The group consensus was 8, 11, and 3.
We tasted in three rounds of four, and my brain seemed to tie them up for common notes. The first group were mostly about the acids but had real depth in the nose, except for the Charmes-Chambertin by Claude Dugat, which lacked complexity due to its extraction and oak. The second set was in better harmony than the first. They were much more approachable at this point in their evolution, but without the volatile acids to push the bouquets they seemed to lack in comparison to the first ones. The third group was where I saw the most promise, but no one stood out as probably great. Once the tasting was over, I ate some of the Brie that EWS provides and tasted 1-4 and 9-12 again. All greatly benefited from the big sloppy fat of the cheese taming the acids.
There was a lot of discussion amongst the group as to whether these would age well, and I think 1-4 and 8-12 definitely will, once the acidity drops back behind the fruit a little. The group’s consensus was that 5-8 had the most potential but, in my humble and short experience, if it is in harmony and drinking well, drink it, if it isn’t wait. The process is that, as time passes, things fall out. Nothing ever comes to the front, it just stays while other things go.
What I do know is that most of the great wines I have ever had were Burgundies older then 30 years, so asking whether these will last is either mental masturbation or a doubt in the newer, super-extracted approach to wine making. In the first case, that’s the fun of wine. In the second, those of us that run counter to the market in our preferences get to choose their wines in the bottom third of the price range and rest easy there is potential, because for 200 years people have been afraid of the out-of-balance young burgundies, but it seems to easy to me if it tastes good now drink it now and it really isn’t worth the money, if it tastes like all the things that taste good in an old burgundy but is out of balance let it get old what’s the worse that could happen you end up with a ‘34 DRC or a ’78 Bon Mares?
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