Young Burgundy with a Brown Bag Surprise

A good but not great Saturday afternoon flight with a rare opportunity to taste a young legend

• 2002 Nicolas Potel Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts

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

  Light color. Smoky, high acid, tight dark fruit. Seems a little insubstantial for the site and vintage.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Nicolas Potel Chambolle-Musigny

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  Dark color. Bright berries on the nose. Briary fruit and relatively full bodied. Good.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Domaine Lignier-Michelot Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  Dark color accompanied by black fruit on the palate. Full bodied with some wood showing. Also good.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Domaine Lignier-Michelot Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Faconnières

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

  Again, quite deep color. Here the nose is full of blueberry. Rich, lush, and meaty. A step up from the Chambolle.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Gérard Raphet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes

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

  Surprisingly pale. Completely different aromatics, with earthier, more vegetal tones. Not much fruit here and short finish.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Gérard Raphet Charmes-Chambertin

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

  This had more of everything than the Combottes. Deeper color, nice black fruits, and a much longer finish while retaining its soil tones. Still, just very good rather than true Grand Cru quality.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2001 Jean-Jacques Confuron Romanée St. Vivant

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

  Pale and mature looking. After the heavier, dark fruit of the '05s, the lacy red fruit was striking here. Faint spiciness adds appeal. Good length in this elegant, light weight package. By no means a great RSV, more like a good Vosne Premier Cru.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2002 Jean-Jacques Confuron Romanée St. Vivant

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

  Again, quite pale for such a young Grand Cru. Riper fruit, higher acid, and more obvious wood than the '01. Overall simpler and less to my taste.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

  This was the one wine tasted blind. After the delicacy of the 2 RSV's from less concentrated vintages, this came across as a real bruiser. Medium dark color. Giving little on the nose right now. Full bodied to the point of being fairly solid and chunky. Lush, long, and pretty monochromatic dark fruit with strong acidity. In trying to guess its origin before the label was revealed, I ventured Gevrey because of its density. I was surprised to find out that this was what we were tasting since it did not seem so obvious that we were in the presence of greatness-the material is there, but will it develop complexity and more Pinot character? This may have been my one and only chance to taste this wine.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Hats off to K&L for pouring the much hyped, unavailable-to-mere-mortals Ponsot Clos de la Roche, which would have justified the cost of the tasting even if the other wines had not been included. When you taste the dark, dense fruit of '05s against that of other vintages, it really puts your preferences in Burgundy to the test.