| | JT was leaving for Burgundy, Alsace and Germany for a wine-filled month, and called together this little dinner with a B.A.G theme. What a fitting send-off too, with some really nice food and really, really interesting wines. As is often the case, unplanned and blind though the wines were, they fell in nice little groupings, with 2 German Rieslings, 2 Clos Vougeot and 2 Echezeaux. However, the real stand-out flight of the night for me was the white Burg flight, with two outstanding village wines. The Meursault was mind-blowing, and far and away the best village I have ever had. Honourable mention goes to the 1976 Faiveley Clos de la Marechale and the SGN as well - both were lovely wines. GERMAN RIESLINGS - 1996 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Very young drinking for its age, but this was unexpectedly good. Lovely Mosel character on the nose - this could hardly be anything else - with tiny little droplets of petrol along with honey, beeswax and caramel tones showing some secondary development, along with fresh apricots and peaches and some lovely sweet florals with just a whiff of haw flakes at some points, along with hints of mineral that were taken up again on the palate. Very seductive bouquet I thought. Palate was not quite as developed as the nose yet. It came across rather light on its feet, vintage character I think, but had lots of live and verve, with clean, clear, rather lemony acidity giving the whole wine a nice zing. There was a little rubber tone on the attack, followed by green apples, sweet lemon curd and some savoury sour plum notes on the mid-palate, all underscored by a bed of minerality. I really liked the feel of this wine. There was plenty of complexity without it ever needing to shout, really decent depth without it needing to be too botrytised, and just absolutely lovely focus throughout. Finish started out just a tad shortish, dropping off rather suddenly, but over time, it filled up gently with some honey tones, lingering slate notes and just that little bit of space. A pretty good pairing with Teochew Cold Crab and Roe. (93 pts.)
- 2008 Weingut Jakob Schneider Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe
A classic Spatlese - quite unlike some of the 2006 and 2007 renditions that were well into Auslese territory - and a pretty good one at that. Nose was attractive enough, with dried earth and some spice notes at the fore, along with a bit of mineral, some white fruit scents and a little lifted lime accent at the rear. Palate had a lovely bright balance to it, with citrus tangerines and orange peel notes sliding easily through the creamily textured attack, alongside some flowery tones and a dry minerallly backdrop. The wine seemed to have some richness on first blush, but leaned out rather quickly at the mid-length palate, where it showed more of that dry minerally aspect with some fresh lemon flavours and a flowery linger. I think this was too young to show any great complexity, but boy was it drinkable - all delicious dollops of freshness that went down the hatch so very easily. (91 pts.)
WHITE BURGS - 2006 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis - France, Burgundy, Chablis
Really, really good for a village. Very clearly Chablis just on the nose alone - I do not think anything else on the table guessed otherwise. Lots of saline bits, some oyster shell, clams, some chalkiness, all adding up to a beautiful, low-toned minerality. Beyond that, there was some cream, some white fruit, but it was really those deep sea-shell and mineral scents that really caught the attention. Palate had a real weightiness to it, with a beeswaxy, almost oily texture - quite astounding for a village I thought. Admittedly, like many 2006 Chablis, what was gained in weight was lost in terms of precision, cut and freshness. However, the wine was still very nicely balanced, and still had a clean, clear feel to it (one might even say it was fresh if it was a 2006 Puligny), with wafting, sea-breeze and seashell flavours, almost like strolling on a beach, to go along with ripe white fruit notes. There was some nice complexity developing here as well I thought, with the wine's minerally essence underpinning everything else. Finish was long, seamless and well integrated with the rest of the wines, showing pinpricks of spice, white fruit and more of that super minerality. I really liked this. (92 pts.)
- 2000 Domaine d'Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Meursault Les Narvaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
This is seriously the very best Burgundy Village I have ever had, white or red. Some guessed Meursault, I actually thought 1er Perrieres, but could not quite place the house; some others thought it may be one of the Puligny Grand Crus; but such was the quality of the wine that we all thought it was from a top-class maker. Yellow-gold in colour, its nose showed a toasty, smoky, bacon fat scents, a hint of BBQ meat at points, some gunflint notes, along with a deep whiff of Meaursault's creamy butter. Swirl a bit, and out came ripe fruit in yellow shades, some earthy nuances and more cream. I thought it might have been a Coche on the first few sniffs. The palate though was certainly not Coche-Dury, closer to Lafon's style maybe, but then again, not so much either. This had both power and grace. It was rich on the attack, with tons and tons of depth that spread across the palate in a deliciously creamy flow; yet it had tremendous freshness, with some lovely acidity all the way from start to finish. Wow. Just tons of power across the mid-palate, but it was so nicely balanced - there was not a hint of the 2000 white vintage's potential for heaviness. Really nice flavour-profile too, with yellow fruit wed to slightly bittersweet grapefruit pips and lots of minerality underscoring the whole package. This got more and more obvious into the finish, where a serious backbone and mineral of dry extract was showing. Superb length here, profound depth, with interesting secondary flavours of kumquat, sour plum and dried fig skin and some pronounced nutty flavours mingling with the mineral tones. A really fantastic wine. Power, grace and complexity, all in one solid package. A real, real treat. Now, what kind of biodynamic magic did Mdm Lalou weave to transform village grapes into a Grand Cru wine? (95 pts.)
ECHEZEAUX - 1998 Domaine J Coudray-Bizot Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Interesting wine, drinking very well now. Quite enjoyable but, as with so many Echezeaux, not quite up to Grand Cru standards. Nose was a bit hard to get around at first, with whiffs of funky gym socks wafting out of the glass. With a little bit of time, it toned down a little, to show wet earth, truffley mushroom scents, a thick meatiness and liberal spice notes, along with some aromatic florals in the background. I thought it was a Vosne 1er, a Suchots maybe. The palate did little to confirm or deny that guess. Silky tannins on entry framed rather simple dark cherry and black fruit flavours, all very clean and smooth. Mid-palate showed some earthiness, some mineral. Not the most complex or weighty, but it did have some sap and was drinking very nicely. Finish had decent length, with some wood-spice notes at the rear. Overall, a very decent wine, completely lacking in the characteristic hardness that marks many 1998s. Drink soon though - I do not think this will improve in the bottle much. (90 pts.)
- 1999 Louis Jadot Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
A good wine - clearly a step up from the 1998 Coudray-Bizot Echezeaux. Rich, deep nose showed dark fruit inflections of kirsch-like cherry scents and plum notes, along with wood-spice, some bittersweet herb scents, some nice florals and just a hint of toasty oak. Palate shared the same richness, with some lovely fruit sweetness and sap in its dark cherry tones along with more spice notes, especially towards the finish, where they more or less filled the mouth as they rode away on a bed of grippy tannins. Really nice concentration I thought, yet it had a sense of refinement often lacking in Echezeaux, with a clean freshness lifting the wine. Still quite tight, still quite young, I got a feeling that there was some really nice complexity in here that was just starting to unfold. A really nice wine with plenty of upside potential - with this one, you could at least see the Grand Cru breeding. (92 pts.)
CLOS VOUGEOT - 2003 Domaine René Engel Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
This was actually a pretty nice 2003! I thought the nose was quite telltale, with typical 2003 burnt toastiness and hints of rubber to go along with nice red fruit tones, some dried earth scents, a little vanilla and a sprig of herbs. The palate got me a bit confused though. It had really nice, fresh acidity running alongside more red cherry and raspberry notes, and a plush, smooth elegance to it. Some spicey inflections and a meaty, slightly animale character in the background made this wine a lovely pairing with black-pepper beef. It was only towards the finish, where some extra richness and a little bit of glycerol suggested 2003 again. Still though, there was decent length, with sprinkles of wood spice closing the wine out. All in all, a really nice wine I thought - this certainly gave a lot of pleasure. (92 pts.)
- 1996 Faiveley Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Another nice Clos Vougeot. Nose had lots of rich cherry scents, almost kirsch like at points, along with sweet dark fruit notes, almost a little like old Grenahce in its richness I thought, but then there were very Burgundian earthy truffle tones, and finally a little winter melon hovering in the background. There was just a bit of reductiveness at the edges, but that cleared up quickly enough. The palate was marked with super-high acidity - made me think 1996 for awhile - but there was also that richness that was suggested on the nose, expressing itself with some lovely sappiness to the wine's cherry flavours amd some sweet dried fruit character that made me think 1990 instead. Past the attack and into the mid-palate, I got some earthiness and bits of spice that grew as the wine flowed into a juicy finish that showed a little patina of powdery tannins. Nice concentration and depth, lots of freshness, nice fruit starting to take on secondary characteristics - this was really quite a nice wine. Plenty of upside too I think. This has just about stepped into its drinking window. (92 pts.)
THE OTHER REDS - 2000 Nicolas Potel Mazis-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
I actually liked this better than most on the table. Very seductive, almost sexy nose - oodles lushly perfumed flowers, rich high-toned cherries, some woody spice and bramble notes and mushroomy scents buried in a layer of funky earth - all very rich and luscious. I thought Chambolle on first sniff, then thought Charmes when told it was Gevrey - it turned out to me neither! One can possibly see why on the palate. I think there was that same sexy seductiveness here again, lovely freshness, with a silky smooth entry, and some pure cherry flavours with rather grorious clarity at the fore. However, there was some grippiness from drying tannins and a meaty undertone that pointed away from Charmes and towards Mazis. Unfortunately, the mid-palate lacked a bit of Grand Cru stuffing. However, the wine was so balanced and delicious that I could easily forgive that. Finish was mid-length, with a little of the hardness of the vintage coming through, along with darker fruit tones and wilder, more gamey meat and brambly notes. All in all, I thought this was a very nice wine, and one that we were fortunate enough to catch at or near peak. (92 pts.)
- 1976 Faiveley Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
A real treat. So this is what a fully mature Clos de la Maréchale tastes like. Rather un-NSG like, and certainly very little ressemblance to either younger Faiveley versions or Mugnier's recent bottlings. The nose on this was quite stunning. Earth, mushrooms, deep red fruit, dark cherries, cranberries, haw flakes, perfumed flowers, tea leaves, deep truffley scents - to die for. I was wondering how the palate had held up, but true to Faiveley's form, this had obviously been made to last. Still super fresh, with plenty of flesh on its frame - the wine was absolutely delicious, unfolding in a quite joyous show of aged Burg flavours, with haw flakes, dried cranberries and cherries, damp loamy earthm truffles, soy and umami, some plummy notes. Yummy. Palate was a bit shortish, at first, but did stretch out and open up with a bit of time to show some spice, some mineral notes and more plums and hawflakes, all accompanied by juicy acidity throughout. Quite clearly the red wine of the night. Very nice indeed. (94 pts.)
- 2004 Château Lucia - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
I had quite forgotten that I had tried this before. It showed quite a bit better this time I thought. Modern, but still clearly a right-bank Bordeaux - no one in the table guessed otherwise. Nose showed sweet oak, some glycerol, and rich plums notes. Much the same on the palate. Modern lines, with fine, slightly powdery tannins giving some grip and some shape to rich, slightly alcoholic Merlot flavours of flowers and plums, along with a more masculine cassis note bringing up the rear. Finish was decent. Rich again, with some glycerol and touches of oak, but it had nice enough fruit and some attractive spiciness, all held in very decent balance. Should get better with age. (90 pts.)
...AND THE ALSACE - 1995 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Sélection de Grains Nobles - France, Alsace
What a beautiful wine. Almost orangey gold in colour. Lovely, very idiosyncratic nose smelt like a far older wine. I got soapy flowers, caramel scents, orange peel, some dried apricot, some chalkiness and then an almost salty character underlying all that. I was quite sure it was a Pinot Gris SGN at this point! Palate was similarly hard to read. It had absolutey profound depth though. Again, some salty, briney notes on the attack, followed by a delicious show of dried figs, orange peel, trangerines and deep cherry tones - very ripe and concentrated, yet all held in incredible balance, and all seamlessly put together. Finish was lovely too. Again, great depth and concentration, lovely length, with caramelly notes and a touch more seashell closing the wine off. What a wonderful way to end a great evening! (94 pts.)
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