Baby Jesus (Bouchard), Yquem, Madeira, Rhys, RM

For years I had been collecting Bouchard's L'Enfant Jesus Burgundy wine. Not every vintage, but a lot of them. For the last few Xmas seasons I think about having a tasting, but never quite get around to it. Last night, we finally got it done. We enjoyed the wines over a few hours.

I served these blind hoping to see if I could get anyone to guess Burgundy on either but especially the Rhys. It kind of worked as the Rhys had more acidity, but most felt they were both excellent expressions of California chardonnay. Agreed.

• 2012 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Light gold in color. The nose is creamy with minerals and lemons. This is young and was better going back at the end of the evening. There is a strong streak of acidity. Nice precision. Most guessed it as CA although no one was completely sure about that. Its best days are ahead.

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• 2012 Rivers-Marie Chardonnay B. Thieriot Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Beautiful showing as well. Clearly of California. The nose has lemon chiffon, minerals and vanilla. Smooth ripe and full on the palate. This is a lush wine. Traces of oak but not dominant. Better after a few hours of air. Compared to the Rhys, side by side, this is lush and rich. Very different styles of Chard but equally well made and enjoyable.

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In general, I think these all exceeded all of our expectations. They seemed to be ageing quite slowly and have a lot more than we expected for a Beaune 1er cru. On a Burgundy scale, there really is some value here. As a general rule, these are powerful wines compared to a Cote Nuits wine, but still with enough age, I think the complexity will be there. Even the Burgheads in the group seemed to be happy with the wines.

• 1993 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 90 Points

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

  Really nice showing for this at 21 years from vintage. Ruby in color. The nose has nice cherries and a bit of rhubarb although not as complex as most of the other wines. On the palate, sour cherries with a tart acidity. This has a great freshness though that belies its age. It was quite alive and drinking well. Cherries and a bit of cherry juice on the palate. Long finish.

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• 1998 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 89 Points

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

  Ruby in color. The nose has cherries and cranberries with some spice. Soft texture. Complex layering. This showed some age but also some freshness at 16 years old. A bit drying on the finish though.

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• 1999 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 91 Points

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

  Seemed to be some controversy here. Some found off musty flavors. Jeff thought it might be corked. I was fine with it. I might have hoped for a bit more from this vintage, it drank just fine with me. Cherries and cherry powdered drink mix on the nose. Complex. Nice streak of acidity. Firm tannins. I think this was still just waking up.

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• 2002 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 94 Points

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

  This vintage was rocking. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has cherries and slight cherry jam qualities. Great lush texture. Cherries and anise on the palate. This is ripe fruit and quite tasty but certainly not over the top with a nice acidity.

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• 2003 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 91 Points

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

  Those who liked big ripe fruit liked this more than I. Ruby/purple in color. Ripe cherries on the nose. Also some dark cherries. Nice lush texture. Big black cherry fruit on the nose. Firm tannins. Still young. It does gain complexity as it unwinds in the glass.

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• 2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 95 Points

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

  Wow. Great showing. Seemed to be a WOTN although we did not formally vote. Ruby/purple in color. Ripe cherry fruit on the nose. A bit of sandalwood. Also some dark cherries as well as some cranberries. Delicious. Great texture. Tight complex layering. This is great right now, but better days are ahead as this unwinds. Long finish. Great balance.

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• 2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 88 Points

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

  The groups least favorite WOTN. We expected more from this good if not great vintage. Cherry powdered drink mix on the nose. On the palate, cherries and rhubarb. A bit less of everything except acidity. This is a fine wine but across the many styles of tasters preferences, it still seemed lacking.

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• 2008 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 93 Points

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

  Purple/ruby in color. The first wine to show of that Burgundy funk. In fact, it was only the three more recent vintages that really did. Also nice cherry fruit. Juicy acidity. Great pure cherry fruit on the palate. It unwinds in the glass to show some tight layering. Needs time of course.

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• 2009 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 92 Points

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

  Purple/ruby in color. The nose has candied cherries. On the palate, this is already open and showing a nice complexity. Still young in terms of tertiary flavors, but this is quite accessible. Great pure cherry fruit but I would like a bit more acidity. Nice finish. I think this has a long life ahead but makes for nice early drinking.

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• 2010 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 94 Points

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

  Purple/ruby in color. The nose has an earthy funk that is nice with cherries and macerated cherries. Ripe on the palate. Deep with a bit of leather and plums. Firm tannins. A great future here.

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I threw in the Yquem while John V put in the Madeiras. As often happens, an aged Madeira was the star of the show. A great way to finish.

• 2005 Château d'Yquem 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  This is outstanding but I expect a bit more from Yquem. Light golden in color. The nose has honey and slight apricots. On the palate, this is delicious with honeyed apricots. Lacks the verve of a great vintage. Finish lasts forever though. Great wine if not a great Yquem.

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• 1915 Cossart Gordon & Co. Madeira Bual Colheita LMR 95 Points

  Portugal, Madeira

  Gorgeous wine. The nose has milk chocolate, oranges and a bit of slight golden raisins. On the palate, smooth with minimal alcohol. Great orange/ctrus streak. Smooth. Long finish.

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• 1920 Barbeito Madeira Boal Favilla Vieira 99 Points

  Portugal, Madeira

  Iced tea color. The nose is WOW. I could smell it from two feet away. Tootsie rolls, oranges, orange peel, and slight dark chocolate. The palate is just as good and matches. This is layered and complex. Powerful yet not over the top. Great balance. Long finish. I keep going back to the nose. Wow.

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I think we all had a lot of fun. Nice theme for a holiday wine tasting. Happy holidays and wishes for a great New Years to all!