Beginning of the Month Burgundies

Chez Panisse Cafe, Berkeley
Tasted Tuesday, June 3, 2008 by drwine2001 with 360 views

Flight 1 - Whites (4 Notes)

  • 1993 J.A. Ferret Pouilly-Fuissé Tête de Cru

    France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

    Full yellow color. Uh oh, the dread oxidation (not premature in this case!)? Nope-surprise! Very fresh with straw, spearmint, and a touch of faded tropical fruit and hazelnut. Full bodied but a wine of surprising focus, minerality, and earth that made it my favorite white of the evening. You'd have to be crazy to hold on to a Pouilly-Fuisse for this long, but I'll be damned if it didn't produce astounding results here which surpassed some bigger names. Bravo for its quality and durability.

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  • 1993 Domaine Francois et Antoine Jobard Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières

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

    Light yellow. After an initial burst of nutty richness, this wine reveals itself to be very much in the lean (almost Chablis-like) style of this producer. Still some match stick notes and the faintest hints of Meursault spice in the finish. It has held up over time but is unexciting in its lack of flavor dimension.

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  • 2002 Domaine Francois et Antoine Jobard Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières Flawed

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

    Corked. Oh well, so much for the chance to compare 2 vintages of this wine together.

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  • 2002 Jean Boillot & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère

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

    Light yellow. Strong reductive tones dominate the nose, but there is plenty of wine underneath. Medium to full bodied with round, low acid, harmonious mouth feel and long finish. Some wood is present, but it discreetly gives shape without being intrusive. Impressive in these respects, but it seems fully resolved, completely ready to go, and somewhat lacking in complexity. Steve Tanzer might call this one "blurry". I'm still waiting to try my "Aha!" wine from Puligny, a commune I just don't understand. Drink up.

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Flight 2 - Reds (3 Notes)

  • 2001 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne

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

    This was the only red wine that had been decanted about an hour before dinner. Fairly light color. Earth and iron to start, with dark fruit as well. Accessible and open at first. Over time, it tightened, displaying more cranberry acidity, tannic structure, and a greener element, suggesting some further aging potential. Not silky, but all in all, an elegant style of Gevrey that I really enjoyed and the most soil driven of the 3 red wines tonight.

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  • 2001 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots

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

    Healthy, medium ruby. So seductive with light strawberry fruit and subtle smokiness right out of the bottle. Then a bit of mushroom and somewhat jarring stemminess briefly take over, only to relax and give way to the gentler red fruit aromatics. Light to medium weight with some spiciness, menthol, sound acidity, and some tannin. Lovely at the beginning and at the end. Perhaps some additional time will tone down the greener elements which I do not recall from a bottle drunk in Beaune about 18 months ago.

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  • 2000 Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche Cuvée Lucie

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

    Light color comparable to the Fourrier tasted alongside it. Combination of red and black fruits, but a mere echo of the intensity of the nose in bigger vintages. Very good acidity and focus for a 2000, and a dark core of meaty black cherry fruit, again with a touch of greenness that was present in each of our reds tonight. Good finish. This tries hard to be serious, in the mold of Hubert Lignier wines. In the end, it does not possess Grand Cru depth or grip, but enjoyable and excellent in the context of the year. I would tend to drink up now as I don't see it improving, but a few at the table suggested another 3-5 years of positive evolution.

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