Seattle Tasting Group does Burgundy

Seattle, WA, USA
Tasted Saturday, January 22, 2005 by Eric with 1,352 views

Introduction

This evening Jason Domanico hosted the Seattle Tasting Group for a blind tasting focused on Burgundy. As can be expected from these sometimes fickle wines, the highs were very high and the lows were dismal. Still, it was an exceptionally enjoyable tasting. Jason also regaled us with a delicious Boeuf Bourginone. In addition, we also enjoyed the presence of Deanna van Gestel of London offline fame and one of the earlier CellarTracker users. She happened to be in town, so we invited her to fill a spare seat at the tasting.

Flight 1 - SOME WHITES TO GET US GOING (2 Notes)

We started with a pair of white wines.

  • 2000 Domaine d'Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Auxey-Duresses Les Boutonniers Blanc 87 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Auxey-Duresses

    I rated this wine lower than any other taster (average score of 91 among the other folks). This shows heavy notes of butter-brickle and toasted marshmallow. The mouthfeel is nice and lush, oily, yet with more oak than I would prefer. The finish is ripe, especially with air and as it warmed, showing notes of banana.

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  • 1987 Lupé-Cholet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Vigne Blanche Flawed

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

    Deep, golden color. From the moment this was poured it showed oxidized notes on the nose along with ripe brie, matchstick and loads of mushroom. The palate was even more mushroom-laden. On the finish this was spicy with nice minerality, but alas with more air this clearly became more oxidized. DOA.

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Flight 2 - A PROMISING START (3 Notes)

The first flight of reds was clearly very young and very tight but still quite promising.

  • 2000 Bernard Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

    This was clearly the darkest in color of the flight. The nose was funky with raspberry, some perfume and eventually hints of raw meat. This was tightly wound and intense with charcoal and a beastly, dark personality that screamed of minerality. The finish is still somewhat clipped, and the fruit is locked up pretty tight, but I think there is a lot more hiding in the depths of this beast.

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  • 2002 Domaine Dominique Mugneret Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

    The nose shows sour cherry with hints of coconut and a little mushroom. Eventually some green notes emerge. The palate is very pure and tight with a core of beautiful raspberry fruit, offering up more with more air. The finish shows pomegranate but is a but astringent and tight, keeping this from an outstanding rating.

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  • 2001 Domaine Lignier-Michelot Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

    Ahh, this is a nose! Some horsey notes give way to crushed raspberry, strawberry, juniper and increasingly ripe notes of fruit. The palate is packed with some amazing graphite and mineral, dark and leathery yet vibrant with very nice balance and fruit intensity. The finish was perhaps the best part, very big and persistent. Mmm, this rocks!

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Flight 3 - THE STINKERS (3 Notes)

Alas, we came crashing back to reality with a simply hideous flight of wines that should have showed far, FAR better?!?

  • 1999 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 88 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

    I liked this more than other tasters (who averaged just over 84 points). The nose shows some hints of pine but is fairly closed on the whole. The palate has a nice, intense core of red fruit and is searingly tannic yet with a lush finish. I hope there is more hiding in here and that this was simply opened way too early. Pretty disappointing.

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  • 2002 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Beaux Frères Vineyard 70 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge

    Uggh, something must have been wrong here, yet none of us could clearly describe this as a defective bottle. Green, alcoholic and stemmy on the nose with searing alcohol on the palate. This just has to be wrong. (The bottle in question was obtained on released from the winery and driven from Oregon to Seattle in an air-conditioned car, so ther is no way it was cooked.) Hmm.

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  • 1998 Domaine Leroy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots 84 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

    The nose shows resin and graphite with a hint of cardboard (not like the moldy smell in TCA, just a bit papery). The palate is very sweet, cloying in fact. With air this settled down a bit and showed some depth, but it was very frustrating to see how sweet this was.

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Flight 4 - BITTERSWEET REDEMPTION (2 Notes)

This next flight seemed to be very exciting, but alas one of the wines was corked. Augh!

Flight 5 - THE 'GRAND' CRESCENDO (2 Notes)

Thanks goodness for this stunning pair of Grands-Echezeaux from JasonD's cellar which helped us to finish off the reds in Grand style.

  • 1985 Mongeard-Mugneret Grands-Echezeaux 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru

    This is what the Ramonet wanted to be, very similar yet overall with better mouthfeel and a more well-rounded personality. The nose is gamey and complex. The palate is amazingly vibrant yet also sweet, pure and well resolved. This is a very pretty wine, although it suffered in comparison to the stunning 1964 Leroy served alongside it.

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  • 1964 Maison Leroy Grands-Echezeaux 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru

    Wow, this was a stunning bottle. The nose was crazy, showing spearmint, cinnamon 'red-hots', leather and increasingly Hermitage-like notes of pine and dried meat. The palate was sweet and delicate at first, seemingly a bit too sweet and perhaps madeirized. However, with air this got better and better, showing stunning depth, intensity and complexity. The finish was my favorite of the night, leathery, chewy, persistent and delicious. The average score across all the tasters was better than 95 points, the unanimous wine of the night, thank you JasonD!!!

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Flight 6 - SOMETHING STICKY (3 Notes)

Finally we finished with some sticky wines. For some reason (part of it familiarity with bottle shapes) I was able to make very good guesses on two of the wines. (Rare is the day when I can guess a wine double-blind based on one prior taste of another vintage.)

  • 2003 Cloudburst 80 Points

    USA, Washington

    This was made by a friend of Jason. Cloudy and a bit ugly in the glass. The nose was fascinating with sharp notes of green grass and gooseberry, very much like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. This reminded me a little bit of a Moscato d'Asti on the palate without the spritz, somewhat sugary yet a bit too simple. Still, I enjoyed this and found it refreshing albeit a bit hollow.

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  • 1995 Domaine de la Bongran (Thevenet) Mâcon-Villages Cuvée Botrytis 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Villages

    I nailed this double-blind, having once enjoyed a bottle of the 1997 vintage of the same wine (courtesy of Patrick Halstead who also gave this wine to Roy Hersh). Short of a wine from Alois Kracher, I don't know what else could taste more like botrytized Chardonnay. Apricots and thick botrytis dance on the nose. The palate is thick, verging on clunky, yet the finish is charged with racy acidity and green apple flavors that keep this very vibrant and lively. This is a very enjoyable Burgundy dessert wine.

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  • 1995 Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac Cuvée Madame 90 Points

    France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Monbazillac

    I correctly guessed the vintage, producer and appellation but did not guess this as the Cuvée Madame. The unbelievably ripe nose shows hints of the expected shower curtain. The palate is beyond unctuous, thick and intense, almost cloying. This lacks the acid of a great Sauternes, and the jammy intensity of this utter beast makes one wonder how long it will take for this to come around. If I had these in my cellar I wouldn't touch one for a minimum of five years.

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Closing

Thanks again Jason for a wonderful tasting!

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