HDH Burgundy Auction

Chicago, IL
Tasted Friday, April 1, 2016 - Saturday, April 2, 2016 by acyso with 694 views

Flight 1 (15 Notes)

  • 2001 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese 93 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    (4/1/2016)

    #06-02, 9% abv. Slight hint of petrol on the nose, with some stone fruit and green herbs as well. The palate shows a lot of the same petrol and stone notes, with a bit of white cherry, lemongrass, and sweet citrus. Moderately sweet, with awesome acidity, this is in a very nice spot. A bit soft on the palate, I have a little trouble imagining what this becomes with more age (but perhaps that's a shortcoming of my own imagination more than this wine). Delicious now though.

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  • 2011 Benjamin Leroux Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Embazées 93 Points

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

    (4/1/2016)

    Moderately reduced nose with some clear matchstick balanced with some lovely sweet and ripe yellow stone fruit. The palate has lots of density, with quite a mouthful of waxy and ripe fruit. At the same time, there's amazing stoniness, matchstick, and acidity here that makes this a very, very convincing example of Chassagne -- one of the best I've had in a while.

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  • 2013 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    (4/1/2016)

    Lovely, lovely nose, with light fruit and floral notes, as well as some discernible oak spice as well as some Vosne spice behind it. The palate, though, is not as stunning as the nose, and this shows a bit of astringency behind the lovely tart fruit and spice flavours. The oak is still poking through, and without doubt, this needs more than a bit of time to smooth over the rough edges.

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  • 2004 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    (4/1/2016)

    I've been blessed that the BdMs I've had have not been poxed. Massive. This is round and sternly structured, with incredible herbal aromatics. I really love what is going on here. Acidity that is totally atypical for a Corton-Charlemagne, but wow, this is absolutely incredible. Dense and mindblowingly powerful. Mineral, racy, and steely, this is an amazing bottle of Bonneau de Martray.

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  • 2001 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    (4/1/2016)

    Surprisingly large-scaled for a Chablis. This had a pronounced rich butterscotch nose, along with some waxy notes of honey. The palate seems sweet (but there's no sugar at all) thanks to the honeyed ripe fruits, but there's plenty of acidity at the same time that keeps things in balance. This does lack a bit of the focus that I'd want in a Chablis, but by no means is this a bad bottle.

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  • 1996 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    (4/1/2016)

    Massively nutty and sherried (but not oxidized nor over-the-top). Nutty and saline, there's almost a touch of Selosse-like oxidative character. The palate is painfully dense and powerful, and the same nutty salinity. The acidity will strip the enamel from your teeth. Hugely structured, though there's a touch of lovely sweet and ripe fruit behind it all that adds a really compelling element of interest.

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  • 2010 Domaine Ponsot Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Cuvée des Alouettes 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru

    (4/1/2016)

    Quite a lovely nose, with just a touch of earth, coupled with some really nice red fruits. Although the aromas are perfumed and powerful, the palate unfortunately doesn't quite live up to that promise. Perhaps a bit too concentrated right now (and showing a whole lot of extraction), I imagine with time this could actually smooth over the edges, but today, this is just a bit too monolithic for easy enjoyment.

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  • 2013 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet Les Ancegnières 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet

    (4/1/2016)

    Holy reduction, Batman! Lots of sulphur, but at the same time there's just an amazing richness to it. Lovely sweet white pears on the palate and a waxy texture. This is a little bit riper and sweet, but there's awesome minerality. What baffles me is the ability to hold its minerality and acidity alongside that sweet ripe fruit.

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  • 2001 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Clos Vougeot 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

    (4/1/2016)

    A little bit stinky and reduced, but that does blow off with some vigorous swirling, to show a bit of earth and sweet red berries. The palate shows a bit of smoky earth, but it isn't too rich and concentrated. A nice touch of spice on the nose and palate as well -- unfortunately it does come across as a little bit muddy. Still, a good bottle, if not as superlative as my other experiences with the house.

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  • 1999 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets St. Georges 93 Points

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

    (4/1/2016)

    Incredible dense black berries on the nose. The palate is black-fruited and dense, with a wall of structure and tannin that is tough to permeate (until the appearance of a bit of coq au vin). Awesome concentration, and I love the extra earth tones as well. Rustic Burgundy at its best -- there's a ripeness here that also just adds so much character to it.

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  • 2013 Remoissenet Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières 88 Points

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

    (4/1/2016)

    Very nice, bright, white-fruited nose, with a moderate dose of oak on the nose. The palate has a nice waxy texture, but the oak does poke through a little bit. Lots of density, and a richness that seems to indicate a fair bit of malo. Lovely acidity to keep things together, but I'd have to say this isn't exactly my style of chardonnay.

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  • 2008 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Special Club Millesimé de Collection 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    (4/1/2016)

    Disgorged June 21, 2015. The nose features a really nice peach and apple quality. White hot acidity on the palate, this is fresh and showing lots of delicious juicy white fruit. Laser-like precision, this is absolutely an enthralling bottle of bubbles.

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  • 1998 Domaine Michel Gros Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées 85 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    (4/1/2016)

    Perhaps a little bit too shitty on the nose for my palate. Quite nice and sweet on the palate, and the manure doesn't show as prominently there. Lovely spice, but I think this is a bit too funky and dirty for me...

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  • 1995 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Flawed

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (4/1/2016)

    Nice bell pepper and barnyard funk on the nose. Indeed, this is quite alluring. The palate though, does leave a bit to be desired -- it's really, really hollow, with a fair bit of heat. Something wrong here.

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  • NV J-M Seleque Champagne Brut Solessence 7 Villages 90 Points

    France, Champagne

    (4/1/2016)

    Disgorged June 2015, 7 g/L dosage. A nice, bright example of a champagne with a lot of minerality. Some pleasant white stone fruit. The palate has a nice tart freshness to it, as well as a really nice acidic cut. Perhaps a bit austere, this is still tasty. A little bit of the meunier funk does peek out, but I'd say that this adds interest to the wine.

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Flight 2 (24 Notes)

  • 2004 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Millésimé 90 Points

    France, Champagne

    (4/2/2016)

    This is a surprisingly soft champagne compared to a lot of the more racy acid knives I experience. The nose has a slight bit of brioche and more prominent yellow stone fruit aromas. The palate is somewhat soft, but it does make for easy drinking. Nothing too cerebral or profound, this is an excellent workhorse of a champagne, if a tad simplistic.

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  • 1995 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Flawed

    France, Champagne

    (4/2/2016)

    Corked!

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  • 2007 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne 85 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    Quite advanced, this shows nothing of the steeliness nor reductive qualities that I'd expect from a Boillot. The nose seems a bit advanced, with not too much of the nice steeliness showing. The fruit is a bit stewy and ripe, and this is disappointingly advanced. Still drinkable, but this is hopefully not representative of what this wine could be.

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  • 2005 Camille Giroud Corton-Charlemagne 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    From magnum. Waxy fruit, honeycomb, and a touch of florals on the nose. The palate is sweet, but with lovely fruit. On the burlier scale, the waxy and rich palate is helped along by a fair bit of acidity, as well as really tasty yellow fruit. A good mineral cut here as well.

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  • 2004 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 93 Points

    France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

    (4/2/2016)

    Very interesting herbaceousness on the nose and palate. The palate doesn't quite have the intensity and power that I've experienced with other Vatans, but that's not to say this is a weakling. The palate is a lot softer and less concentrated, but I love the green herbs and minerality. Very special Sancerre.

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  • NV Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    (4/2/2016)

    V.13, April 2015 disgorgement. Quite floral, with some very pretty sweet marzipan notes on the nose. The palate is slightly sweet, but shows lovely almond flavours. Floral, light, and restrained. Perhaps a little bit more dosage might have rounded out the edges a bit, but this is pretty damn tasty all the same.

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  • 2011 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Goulots Vieille Vigne 83 Points

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

    (4/2/2016)

    Thin, green, and stemmy on the nose and palate. Not pleasant...

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  • 2013 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    Slight nose of sulphur, but not too reduced. There are some of the classic notes of saline and lemon on the nose. A bit rounder and fatter than the Butteaux (which I preferred). Good minerality and lemony acidity. A really textbook showing of Raveneau and MdT.

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  • 2013 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    A bit more steely, reduced, and mineral than the MdT that we had alongside. I really liked the steeliness here, Not as rounded, this has a lot more of the inorganic elements I really like in chardonnay, while at the same time, this has a good bit of the same fatness at the MdT.

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  • 1996 André Ziltener Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    Pretty tight nose, with lots of dense small red berries. The palate is slightly sweet, with a somewhat firm unyielding character. There's a nice touch of rust and earth but this isn't too complex or deep. Perhaps not showing all the terroir it could, this is still a very enjoyable and surprisingly open 1996.

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  • 2002 Monthélie-Douhairet-Porcheret Volnay 1er Cru Champans 90 Points

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

    (4/2/2016)

    The nose is a lot, lot worse than the palate. There's tons of the Burgundian poop on the nose, but that hides the lovely sweet red cherry palate. There's a lot to like here, indeed, and this doesn't have any of that manure on the palate. In fact, the palate is surprisingly clean and actually really good.

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  • NV The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Meunier Brut Nature 50th Anniversary 90 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

    (4/2/2016)

    Slightly pinkish colour. Lots of interesting earthy and mushroomy funk on the nose. The palate has a touch of tart cranberry, and isn't quite as funky as the nose. Very bright and fresh, with tons of minerality. Perhaps this isn't as dense and potent as a top-tier champagne, but this is a very convincing and enjoyable bottle of bubbly all the same.

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  • 2009 Domaine Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny Vieille Vigne 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

    (4/2/2016)

    Very dense nose, with a lot of dense and sweet red berry aromas. The palate has incredible density, and shows almost atypically high extraction for Fourrier. Black-fruited, and not overripe at all. Not the most complex wine, but a really enjoyable example of 2009.

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  • 2002 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques 90 Points

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

    (4/2/2016)

    This shows a lot of very, very ripe fruit on the nose. It's quite restrained in that context, and shows a very nice bit of earth and spice. Lots of freshness and red fruits, with just a nice touch of rust. The tannins are still quite grippy and this needs a lot more time for it to integrate. There's enough acidity here as well to help out the sweet fruit.

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  • 1976 Domaine Clair-Daü Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques 90 Points

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

    (4/2/2016)

    Lovely aged notes with lots and lots of earth. Lots of rust on the palate, this is a bit advanced. I do like the earthiness here, but I can't help but think there's just a tad of advancedment on the palate. There's a nice bit of sweetness from the stewiness which adds interest. But at this point I found this a bit more of an intellectual curiosity compared to the eminently enjoyable 1969 I had a while back.

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  • 1982 Mongeard-Mugneret Clos Vougeot 85 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    My first 1982 Burgundy. There's a lot of interesting earthy funk on the nose, as well as some lovely tea notes. A bit of soy and definitely showing advanced. Admittedly this isn't the best vintage of the decade, but it's in great shape and showing quite well.

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  • 2002 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    One of the most powerful noses today -- this has an amazingly ripe and voluptuously red-fruited nose. Very ripe and sweet with some lovely brown spice notes. Really deep and powerful, with lots of ripe power. I've said I preferred Meo on less ripe years, but this makes me rethink that...

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  • 1996 Domaine Robert Jayer-Gilles Echezeaux du Dessus 88 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    A very firm example of the 1996, this had a very tight tannic structure. Lots of tart cranberries and other small berry notes. Who knows what time will do to this -- it's admittedly very dense and there's a lot of great stuffing here, but the question is whether or not this will be able to smooth out the rough edges...

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  • 2002 Joseph Drouhin Chambertin 80 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    The nose is disappointingly muddy and showing rust and earth. There's an unpleasant cheesy note on the nose as well which I really don't like. The palate doesn't have any of the ripe fruit I'd expect from 2002, and in fact, it shows a bit tinny and acidic. Really embarrassing, especially for a vineyard of this stature from a well-regarded producer.

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  • 1997 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Clos Vougeot 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    For a 1997, the nose on this is absolutely spectacular. This is showing the right amount of funk counterbalanced by ripe fruit. Perfumed cherries, this is actually much, much better than the Richebourg I've had, which has struck me as over-the-hill and in decline. This bottle on the other hand... the palate is a tad more muddied, as I find a bit in these older HN CVs, but in the context of 1997, that's not surprising. A bit overacidic given the riper vintage, this is still a great showing of a 1997.

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  • 1996 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Clos Vougeot 88 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    Lots of really bright red fruit on the nose, but you can almost smell the acidity and structure. There's also a slight touch of earth on the nose but it's not as aromatically complete nor enticing as the 1997. The palate is really scrawny and emaciated, and showing lots of tart red fruit. Really tart and not exactly pleasant.

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  • 1999 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    (4/2/2016)

    The nose on this is quite textbook, with lots of black fruit. However, it is missing a lot of the nice animale, roasted meat, and olive characters I like in my northern Rhones. The palate follows through on what the nose has, but shows a little bit more acidity than needed to balance everything out. Quite backward, this is a reasonably serviceable syrah, if not the most interesting.

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  • 2006 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    (4/2/2016)

    The nose here is very, very reduced, and shows a lot of matchstick. This is a beast of a Corton-Charlemagne, with lots of matchstick flavours. Lemony, tart, and showing just a slight touch of sweetness from the riper grapes. This has all the steeliness that I want from a CC, Fantastic, compelling chardonnay... it's a big mistake to dismiss this wine from a "weaker" vintage.

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  • 1986 Georges Noellat Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots Flawed

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

    (4/2/2016)

    Stewy, muddy, and rusty. Way past its prime. Requiescat in pace.

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