Red Burgundy tasting @

Sundays at Barry's 9, II: With the whites well and truly over, our gracious host decided to continue in the spirit of events by serving us semi-blind the next three 2009 reds from the Côte de Beaune. A tough job, but someone had to do it…

• 2009 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean Rouge 86 Points

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

  The first red has a medium intense ruby-coloured core and a clearing rim. Medium-plus intense notes of assorted red and black fruits are livened up by some distant cretaciousness and a hint of liquorice. There is no real finesse or precision, but the fruit has some depth to it. I detect a medium-plus body on the slightly clunky attack. Medium-plus acidity keeps proceedings fresh, but the adequate mid-palate stuffing can’t conceal the slight rusticity of its medium tannins, which gives the liquorice an inky edge. The finish starts to lose cohesion after 15-20 seconds, so 86 points are warranted and this wine has enough structure to keep for a couple of years and possibly merit some upside. I strongly suspected this was a Chassagne and it indeed turned out to be Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean 2009 - Domaine Michel Niellon .................................TN Mike de Lange.

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• 2009 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Derrière Chez Edouard Vieilles Vignes 85 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru

  The next wine has a more intense –medium-plus– ruby core and little evidence of clearing. The nose however, is but medium-minus intense and gives off impressions of crunchy black fruit and something vegetal that makes me suspect inclusion of at least a portion of the stems.Also medium-plus bodied, the acidity turns out to be not quite medium-plus. The medium tannins however, are much more refined and have some pleasant grippiness to them, while supporting medium-plus intense flavours of strawberries laced with a similar inky touch as the previous offering. One other point of interest is that while quite strikingly concentrated, the no more than decent mid-palate buffering makes this wine appear somewhat closed. This makes me suspect that there will be a definite upside to cellaring it, as the finish does not completely convince yet either with 15-20 seconds. I’ll give 85 points with a possible 2 to 3 points upside after a minimum of 2 years. I suspected a village Pommard, but it was Saint-Aubin 1er Cru “Derrière chez Edouard 2009 from Domaine Lamy ....................... TN Mike de Lange.

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• 2009 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Rouge 87 Points

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

  Quite similarly coloured as the Lamy, the nose is medium intense on the last blind red. It gives of notes of sweet strawberry and that’s about it. Medium-plus bodied on the attack, this wine distinguishes itself positively by very pleasant sève on the mid-palate, which is supported by supple medium-minus tannins and kept in the red-fruited end of the spectrum by just about medium-plus acidity. A hint of liquorice adds interest to otherwise medium-plus intense and quite extracted flavours and this wine possesses a sense of balance which sets it slightly apart from the previous two. The emerging picture is confirmed by 20-25 worth of balanced length , so I’ll award 87 points. I had a sneaking suspicion that this would be the Ramonet in the bunch and it was indeed Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot 2009 from Domaine Ramonet. I have been told by many a seasoned taster that Ramonets reds are underrated and that they age quite well, but on the basis of this showing I would be inclined to drink this over the next two years. It might be the vintage ....................... TN Mike de Lange.

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• 2009 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Cherbaudes Vieille Vigne 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  No longer blind, this valued old acquaintance has a medium-plus ruby-red core, with a typical sombre hue. The medium intense nose is initially rather gassy, but several minutes of frantic swirling bring out griotte cherry, chlorine minerals and a hint of game. The body is slightly fuller than usual at medium-plus, while medium-plus acidity precedes medium-plus intense flavours of red cherry, laced with the typical slightly herbal and/or vegetal notes of this 1er cru. There is some grip to the medium-minus tannins, despite them being utterly ripe. Despite the fact that this wine is more extracted than usual, Fourrier’s refined style shines through on the understated –indeed almost sneaky– 20-25 second finish. 90 points it is then and mid-term cellaring will surely be awarded with a 1-2 point improvement................... TN Mike de Lange.

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• 1999 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 80 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Despite being 13 years old, the next wine has a medium-plus intense and bright ruby core, with an only slightly clearing rim. The nose start out with funky cellar stink, then morphs to overripe canned fruit before more exposure to oxygen unveils a (non-TCA) cardboard-like component and finally turns savoury and gamey; all at about medium-plus intensity. I am surprised to find a no more than medium body on the attack, after which pronounced acidity makes its point in a rather unsophisticated manner and serves to further exacerbate the rawness of medium, oak-phenol enhanced tannins. Unfortunately, the medium-plus intense raspberry fruit is fighting an uphill battle as far as providing a balanced drinking experience is concerned. While the oakiness does deliver a cornucopia of wood-spice on the 15-20 second finish, I doubt whether the parts will ever integrate into something resembling a pleasant drink. Therefore –while the materials certainly seem good– I can’t give more than 80 points for this bottle and I’m being generous here. My advice is to unload this wine at auction at your earliest inconvenience, or take the plunge and cellar it for at least 5-10 years if you feel particularly lucky ............... TN Mike de Lange.

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• 1987 Domaine Perrot-Minot Gevrey-Chambertin 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Every now and then it is good to sample a wine with a medium-minus intense garnet core, if only to remind oneself of what that looks like. The nose is quite pronounced and initially shows not very vinous notes of overripe raw-milk Camembert; even Roquefort. Gradually, this morphs to mahogany, old leather and amazingly enough sweet red fruits. There is some life left in this geezer yet. It’s medium bodied and its medium-plus acidity even has some nice old-wine finesse to it. While the light tannins are somewhat exposed due to slightly failing expression of mid-palate fruit, some raspberry is still present. Furthermore, complex medium-plus intense flavours of leather and peat get some lift from iodine minerality. The finish initially ups the intensity somewhat and takes 20 seconds to slowly fade.While undeniably getting somewhat long in the teeth, this was an impressive showing for a 25 year-old village from an abysmal vintage. I think 87 points are wholly deserved, with the caveat that this is not for everyone; the hedonistically inclined needn’t bother ................. TN Mike de Lange..

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• 1999 Fery-Meunier Charmes-Chambertin 90 Points

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

  We have a medium intense sombre ruby core, with a distinctly clearing rim. The medium intense nose is initially quite gamey, but a few minutes of oxygenation adds notes of raspberry, roast meat, a hint of wood spice and an iron streak of minerals. Medium-plus bodied on the attack, I am immediately welcomed by tangy pronounced acidity. The medium tannins have quite substantial grip left, which adds a dried herbal edge to otherwise pleasantly textured, just-about medium-plus intense raspberry flavours. In that, the grand terroir does shine through. Unfortunately, the mid-palate stuffing is not quite up to par compared to previous bottles drunk two years ago. This creates a suspicion of unrevealed potential, for which I would not have given this wine credit at an earlier stage. The finish initially clocks in at 20-25 seconds, but both length and intensity seem to improve with time, which seems to confirm its potential. I’ll give 90 points for this bottle and think it will keep for at least five years. Post-scriptum: according to our host this wine had improved significantly the next day, which prompts me to suspect a potential of two points ............ TN Mike de Lange

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• 2004 Domaine Leroy Gevrey-Chambertin 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  This controversial wine has a medium-minus intense, fully translucent ruby core and a cloudy, bricking rim. The nose is medium-plus intense and shows notes of tell-tale pine cone and a mineral infusion of both chlorine and iron, to which further oxygenation adds refined & sweet red fruits and a touch of roast game. On the attack, the body is no more than medium and texturally this wine is quite pleasing due to pronounced but refined acidity and high-quality, indeed almost silky medium-minus tannins. This structure supports medium-plus intense, nervously styled flavours of raspberry and red cherry, interwoven with iron filings. The finish continues in a similar vein for an effortless 30-35 seconds and continues to improve in balance and persistence until the bottle and my glass are drained. As I don’t mind it as much as some, I will still give 93 points and this wine is ready to go in my opinion, but will keep for a minimum of 5 years............... TN Mike de Lange

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