Sasi's "B" day - Old Burgs, Barolos and Others

Sasi was back in Singapore for a short visit and we gathered to celebrate his birthday. How quickly a year has flown by! The birthday boy asked for a theme of aged Burgs and Baroli, apart from that the wines were blind. Boy did we ever have a treat though. Even the two youngish whites, both 2002 by chance, were "aged" beyond what we expected. Unsurprisingly though, it was the 1934 Charmes-Chambertin that stole the show. Thanks Sasi!

• 2010 Rimauresq Côtes de Provence Cru Classé "R" 90 Points

  France, Provence, Côtes de Provence

  I thought this was a very accomplished Rose indeed. Very nice nose here, with fresh, lively notes of wild strawberries in a touch of cream and seasoned with a few sprigs of grassy Provencale herbs. Very pretty. The palate was as fresh as the nose. Again, strawberries on the attack, but this was backed up with a very Proevencal backdrop of dried earth, stony mineral and garrigue stretching out into a slightly bittersweet mineral finish of surprising length and character. A touch of heat aside, this was very pleasant and lively. Light on its feet, but no lack of substance. I liked it.

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• 2002 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Last bottle. This wine is always a gamble with all sorts of premox and advanced aging issues, so I am glad this bottle came out well. It did drink like what you would expect from a Les Preuses a good 10 years older, flecked with just that bit of oxidation at the edges, but thankfully it was not over the hill but rather came across as being almost at peak. I loved the nose - mushroomy, truffley, with a serious layer of chalk, and a lovely, almost cidery appley scent matched by lemons and melons, a subtle bit of flowers. Beautiful stuff, smelt almost like a good Blanc des Blancs Champagne actually. The palate was very much on form as well. This had all the cut, precision and sharpness of a Les Preuses, along with a just lovely stony, almost metally minerality wed to the fleshy white fruit of the 2002 vintage. Here, rich apple and pear flesh on the attack and mid-palate moved into a long, lush finish where there was an almost mushroomy savouriness underlined with more Chablis minerality. Unsurprisingly, a great pairing with mushroom soup. Drinking beautifully now - advanced beyond its age for sure, but most of the table thought it was just lovely. Boy I am glad that we popped this now rather than a couple of years later.

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• 2002 Joseph Drouhin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  I thought this was pretty good, but there was something clearly not quite "right" about it even so. Premoxed most probably, but to the extent that the wine was extemely advanced and starting to tire without quite showing the browning of colour and flavour of a completely gone bottle. The nose here still showed a nice mixture of white fruit, nutty caramel, honey, earth and mineral. The palate was rather rich, speaking of Meursault, and it was still fresh, but it lacked a bit of cut and precision of good Perrieres. What it did have though was a depth of white fruit and ripe lemons, a nice fleshy Meursaultness if you will, and a good amount of Perrieres mineral. Somehow a bit hollow and directoneless at the back, still though a nice drink that could well hold its own against a many an un-flawed Chards.

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• 1976 Domaine Bachelet-Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean Rouge 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  A nice wine. Popped and poured, it was a bit awkward at first. This took quite a bit of time in the glass to crawl out of its big, not altogether friendly 1976 shell and emerged as a very drinkable wine which made a good foil for a beef carpaccio starter. It had a lovely nose from the get-go though. Here, Aa little nutty toasted caramel whiff at the fore marked the entry into a nicely evolved melange of dark cherries, spice and earth and a slightly herby waft of fresh cut flowers. Nice. It got even better with time, but the overt oak toast melding away and a nice spicy, minerally layer with and flowers emerging over time - almost rose-petals in its aspect. It was the palate that needed some coaxing out though. At first, it seemed that it was not the richest or most layered, a bit grumpy, a bit disjointed. However, it was clear that this was still pretty alive, opening up slowly with time to show a good balance between its softened but still muscular structure, decent acidity and rather ripe red dates and berries and some almost dried cherry fruit moving into a spicy, earthy finish. The backpalate just rang a bit hollow for me and there was a smidgen of heat at the edges at first, but with time, this too ironed out into a powerful end. By this point, the wine had come together very decently, to make a nice drink. Not a complete wine, this definitely showed the weaknesess of the vintage, but it was a very good 1976 indeed.

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• 1934 Bouchard Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Needless to say, this was a real treat. It was almost a bonus that the wine was not only alive, but drinking very nicely indeed. This was amazing stuff that got us guessing that it was from the 1960s or 1970s. Opened 6 hours to slowly breath before serving, it was a great surprise when poured to find the same oaky, toasty, caramelly nose as the earlier wine in the flight - a 1976 Chassagne Rouge - at first. However, this too opened up beautifully into a lovely, dense bouquet of red cherries and raspberries, slightly stalky flowers and a bit of mushroomy funk, like what you would expect from a forest floor after a fresh spring shower. Wonderfully integrated, it was a beautifully intriguing nose, and one that kept developing all the time, taking on an ever more spicy back-lift. I loved the palate too. Very resolved, very integrated, but this still had chunks of fleshy fruit - think red dates, melting cherries, raspberry ripple - all rather dense actually, but beautifully balanced with a seamless bit of acidity. Delicious. Towards the back-end, the earth, mineral and stalky flower tones picked up on the nose peeked out again amidst a little touch of rather suspiciously Syrah-like meat and spice notes. Some alteration maybe, but really, who knows. This was long, complex, balanced, and very alive, even if a Rhone-nish drop or two may have contributed to its longevity. Wonderful.

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• 1978 Domaine Les Perrières Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  A very un-Burg-like Burg. But if one can see past that, it was actually a nice drink. This started out with a really rich, robust nose, with layers of stewed black tea, dried rose petals, a dusting cocoa powder, some umami mushrooms and then at the fore, really rich red fruited scents - red dates, cherries, rapsberries - all soaked in a savoury, earthy back-note. So rich that I thought it might have been Nebbiolo. The palate was more Burg though and actually clear enough for me to guess Gevrey. Lots of sappy red fruit on the attack, it showed stewed cherries and raspberries laced with some pretty fresh acidity. The finish had a sneaky length that snaked around the mouth with a touch of earth and meat. This was beautifully balanced and very drinkable. In that sense, clearly from a strong vintage, although not from the best of makers or terroirs - this lacked some of the lacy grace that you would expect from a good Burg of this age. Still, a nice wine.

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• 1974 Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  I really liked this. It was a bit overshadowed by the presence of a 1934 Charmes-Chambertin on the table, but shock and awe aside, I thought this was every bit as good as the much older wine. Opened four hours before serving, it actually came across a bit sweet on the nose at first, with some cough mixture cherry and an inexplicable whiff of caramel and butterscotch that took a bit of time to settle down. Awhile later though, these drifted away to show lots of melting red fruit scents - all raspberries and cherry syrup and a little touch of kirsch - just before a beautiful rosy note floated in along with a tiny hint of tar. Classic Piedmont, and, it got fresher and fresher with more air, opening up with really nice red cherry scents. Absolutely feminine and just beautiful. What a bouquet here. The palate every bit as good. It had pitch perfect balance, with a stream of fresh acidity running through beautifully defined flavours of red cherries, and then dried earth, spice and mineral washed with just the littlest layer of beef stock. With time, it open up even more into a beautiful mouthful of pure, fresh cherry fruit. There was still a little layer of tannins towards the back-palate, but this was drinking beautifully, exiting in a finely focused finish that had a sneaky length to it. I loved this - lush Italian pleasure with a lovely sense of Piedmontese structure and nobility. While nice now, it has more than enough in its tank to go on for another decade or more.

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• 1997 Parusso Barolo Piccole Vigne 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Many, many years before this is anywhere near ready, but this was pretty nice. I really liked the nose. It was a bit tight, but already showing just beautiful scents of roses, dusky cherries and tar framed by a bit of oak. Gorgeous even in its youth. The palate was clearly very young as well. Still tight, still cloaked in a layer of powdery tannins, but with rich dark cherry fruit that showed all the sunny ripeness of the vintage wed to lovely bits of spice and a gentle smokiness. The finish had a nice gentle length as well, curling away into the distance with an attractive little whiff of tar. This needs many years yet, but it has some quality to it.

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• 2008 Schloss Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Auslese 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  I am getting old. Quite forgotten having tried this before - yet again. Thank goodness for cellartracker. This bottle, a 375ml, showed rather more awkwardly than our previous outing. A lot of sulphur, a bit of reduction, it almost masked the whole nose. Below that, there was nice touch of Mosel white fruit, some apple and peach scents and a bit of earth and mineral. Nice, but you really had to concentrate to see that beyond the sulphur and rubber-band whiffs. The palate was rather better. Bright, lively, with lots prickly acidity running through pure whte fruit notes of pear and apple laced with a citrussy grapefruit and pomelo lilt. The finish stretched on quite a bit too, with the brightest, freshest citrus notes yet stretching away with bits of lemon and green apple. Lovely balance, cut and focus. Beautiful stuff. It needs many years yet, but the quality certainly is there.

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