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1998 Burgundy Grand Cru Dinner
Cheng Hu Tien, Keong Saik Road, Singapore
Tasted April 30, 2014 by Paul S with 1,323 views
Introduction
This dinner was the second in a series of red Burgundy vintage horizontals (the first was focused on 1997). It is a great way to gauge how some less than heralded vintages are doing at the very top-end, especially now that a decade and more has passed since the wines were released. While this was a "Grand Cru" dinner, we also had two very good bottles of Clos St Jacques.
Overall, I found the 1998s at this point to represent a very solid, middle-of-the-road vintage that produced very competent, if not exactly exciting wines – very similar to the impressions I had when we did a similar tasting of the vintage four years back. I did think the wines had developed quite nicely in the intervening time though.
The table was a little split on whether we preferred 1997 or 1998 as a vintage, and I can see why. I think that the 1998s are perhaps objectively better in terms of sheer quality – the wines had more depth, more structure and were certainly more complete. However, I must say that the 1997s had a softer, more pleasing feel in general, and were perhaps more ready, many of them drinking at peak. With the 98s, one could not help but feel that a few of the wines needed more time. There was also often something hard, slightly herbaciousness and brambly at the finish with these. While the 1998s produced fuller, deeper, more amply structured wines, the 1997s did seem more transparent in the sense of transmitting their terroir.
All in all, I would call this a solidly good, rather than charming vintage. As always though, we had some gobstoppingly good wines given the producers and vineyards that were represented thanks to everyone’s generosity.
Flight 1 - BUBBLES (1 note)
White - Sparkling
1998 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut
94 points
Very nice – this is finally starting to show some signs of development. The nose had typical accents of cream and brioche, with a touch of smoke and earthy mineral drifting across a core of sweet apples and lemon aromas. Very attractive. The palate had a nice generosity to it, as well. It was full, rich, and deeply textured, with matured flavours of honey, kumquats and limes stretching from a fleshy attack into a moreish midpalate with just the slightest oxidative twang to it. Past that, the more matured fruit lifted to show a bright citrussy base that drove the wine into its long finish, where little draws of smoky spice and a long pull of minerality made a very solid end. Very nice. I liked this on the night, but while it is starting to show signs of maturity, it was still blessed with quite a bit of stirring acidity and a fine mousse and will grow nicely in the bottle for a good many years yet.
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Flight 2 - WHITES (2 notes)
White
1998 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles
92 points
Enjoyable. Not a classic Leflaive Pucelles, but fun to drink. Saying that though, half the table managed to guess it correctly when blind. It had a lovely, quite arresting nose, almost pungent – with deep wafts of sweet cream over ripe red apples shading into stone fruit aromas, all this wed to a typical flinty, seashelly minerality and little drifts of smoke. Nice. The palate was very good, if not quite up to the level of the strongest of Pucelles vintages. It was creamy, almost oily textured, with rich yellow fruited flavours underpinned by steely mineral and a nice ream of spiciness. There was tons of depth, even power here. And while it was not the most precise, the balance was still pretty decent, enough to made it a great pairing with a chilled crayfish dish. There was just a little bittersweet linger right at the end that was a little distracting, but this was a nice wine overall. On current evidence, maybe time to start drinking up – I do not see this getting much better.
White
1998 Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc
92 points
Very nice indeed – like chalk and cheese compared with the rich, powerfully 1998 assertive Leflaive Pucelles that was served alongside, but every bit as enjoyable. This wine had a very pretty nose - lots of chalky notes, a little layer of butter and cream, then sweet white flowers and red apples. Really attractive. The palate had a very lively feel, with a lovely sense of precision and focus that was missing from the Pucelles. There was an almost laser-like definition to it, with a beam of freshness and a good spine of minerality running through its green apple and lime flavours. Not quite as deep and generous as the previous wine, but still quite nicely satisfying. Decent finish too, curling away with a little steely tail. A nice wine, drinking pretty well now, but it also has the balance to age more over the next few years if it is free of premox.
Flight 3 - RED 1 (2 notes)
Red
1998 Domaine Trapet Latricières-Chambertin
91 points
First of the reds. This was pretty solid without delivering a great Grand Cru experience. It had a nice nose, very masculine, with earthy mineral scents and a little touch of spice framing deep draws of dark cherries and blackberries and dark aromas of violet flowers – there was something slightly liquered and quite attractively rich on that bouquet. The palate was quite a bit leaner than the nose suggested though. This was more about steely mineral and earth just patted down with a little bit of dried fruit. There was a solid, masculine structure to the wine, with slightly dry, grippy tannins asserting themselves in a rather herbaceous finish. Those rich liquered tones picked up on the nose were suddenly nowhere to be found. Overall, decently good, but not great. I am not sure it is going anywhere as well – a lot depends on whether the fruit can last long enough for that hard structure to mellow. I am not entirely sanguine about that.
Red
1998 Domaine Maume Mazis-Chambertin
91 points
Like the Trapet Latricieres that preceded it, this was good rather than great, and rather short of a Grand Cru experience. It did have a really arresting nose, lots of wild, sauvage tones of meat and fur and undergrowth underpinned by sweet dark cherries and dark florals aromas. With time, there was a more lifted smell that reminded me of raw nuts in there as well. Quite a lovely bouquet if you do not mind some meaty funk actually. Unfortunately, the palate was again noticeably thinner than nose would suggest. True to the terroir, there was something rather rustic on this, with some cool red fruit and decent acidity on the attack feinting towards sweetness, before thinning out over the midpalate into minerally mineral tones with some grippy, raspy tannins littered around. Quite pleasant at points, less so at others. All in all, a decent wine, but Maume has made far better Mazis in recent years.
Flight 4 - RED 2 (2 notes)
Red
1998 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne
93 points
Truly excellent. I have historically been rather on the fence as to the old argument of whether Clos St Jacques should be elevated to Grand Cru status – there are a fair number of CSJs that are quite firmly in 1er Cru level, with a certain leanness and lack of Grand Cru depth that seems quite apparent. There is also the riddle of whether it is the select pick of great makers who own plots in the vineyard that make the wines so good, or the terroir itself. Tonight though, the CSJ pair (a 1998 Rousseau being the other wine) really sparkled – they made the Trapet Latricieres and Maume Mazis on the previous flights (from good producers, although admittedly amongst the “poorer” terroirs of the nine Gevrey Grand Crus) seem clumsy, rather weaker and more rustic, and that is saying something. This wine, the Fourrier, was brilliant. What a nose it had, full of exotic spice – cloves and nutmegs and cumin – with sweet tones of dried red berries and plump raspberries and a lovely floral, lavender-infused perfume beyond. Wow, this was wild, seductive stuff. The palate was absolutely lovely too, full of charm. It showed beautifully pure notes of red cherries and berries underpinned by classic Clos St Jacques sinew, with savoury earth and meat and wet stoney mineral woven through a super-fine, yet clearly present structure. It had lovely freshness too, with a green mango-like acidity chasing the sweeter fruit flavours into the midpalate and then on to a finish licked with exotic spice and dried flowers. It was only right at the very end where the refined finesse of the wine frayed a little, showing some rough edges in the form slightly drying, grippy tannins. All in all though, a beautiful wine.
Red
1998 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
94 points
In a word - superlative. Like the Fourrier Clos St Jacques that preceded it, this was quite clearly Grand Cru quality. In fact, as much as I loved the Fourrier, I found this far stronger – it was every bit as charming, but was a much more complete wine. We had another lovely nose here, with deep wafts of dark cherries and berries and dried flowers laced with lots of fragrant spices, with cloves at the forefront, and then a touch of dried earth – a heady mix of the masculine and feminine, all making for a tremendous bouquet. The palate was very fine indeed. It had amazing finesse, with pure flavours of red cherries and berries and sour plums cloaked with a light layer of super-fine tannins and just pitch perfect balance lent by lovely, bright acidity. Like the nose, there was this beguiling femininity and elegance on the palate wed to a more masculine tones, with a savoury, slightly meaty counterpoint and a great undercurrant of mineral and spice stretching into a strong, super-long finish. Boy this was great. A fantastic wine just starting to show its chops – give it 5 years or so in the bottle, and it will be even better.
Flight 5 - RED 3 (2 notes)
Red
1998 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin
95 points
Wow. This was quite stunning. It still clearly needs time in the bottle, but man, this was a very, very impressive Chambertin. It had a killer nose, with beautiful, deep notes of red cherries and berries, little touches of earth, deep-set hints of sweet spice, and just the lightest kiss of oak. Wow. The palate still seemed so young, but it was clearly one of the most complete wines I have had in a long time. It had truly great depth and a muscular strength to its deep flavours red cherries and berries, yet this was elegant, effortless, almost graceful in the way it flowed through the mouth on a bed of velvety tannins and juicy acidity. Still monolithic, but seamless and perfectly harmonious, this just filled the mouth with layer after layer of red-fruited Gevrey goodness, just starting to show nice bassy, earthy notes on the midpalate. It is quite a testament to the quality of Rousseau’s wines that they managed to craft a wine of such class and finesse, with not a trace of brambly hardness, in a vintage like 1998. It had a great, long finish as well, with the last vestiges of juicy fruit flecked with little spicy accents. Beautiful stuff. This has come a long way from when I tried it 4 years back, but it needs time to open up yet – I would leave it aside for another 4-5 years at the very least, perhaps a couple years more to be safe – but it will be amazing when it hits it stride.
Red
1998 Bernard Dugat-Py Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
93 points
Very good indeed, but this had the tremendous disadvantage of coming right after a wonderful bottle of 1998 Rousseau Chambertin. There was a clear gulf in class between the two wines. It would be unfair to slight this though, because it was a very solid Chambertin in its own right. It had a sweet nose with a dried fruit note to its black cherries and blueberry aromas – a rather darker shade than the exuberantly red fruited Rousseau. These were than chased by masculine tones of earth and spice. That was quite nice. The palate had a rather more restrained feel than the nose. On one hand, it had a real reservoir of sweet, dark-fruited tones of dark cherries and blackberries – a huge, black depth – but this was all held in the grip of fine acidity and some rather drying tannins, so that it came across very balanced and structured, almost a bit austere at points, a bit tucked it and lean in spite of its size and weight. It really needed some time in the glass to get going –fanning out slowly with time into a more open mouthfeel, with a nice purity of fruit and a juicy freshness starting to show with time, so that it almost showed a touch of elegance amidst the more austere structure. There was a good finish here too, long and fresh and scored with nice touches of mineral and spice. This was more a clearly a child of its vintage than the Rousseau - it lacked the seamless depth and layered finesse of the previous wine, and was marked by some of the dry, dusty austerity that some of the other 1998s displayed. For all that though, it is an impressive Chambertin in its own right, with still quite a long way to go on its aging curve. Give it another 6-8 years, and I dare say it will be a really nice drink. 93+
Flight 6 - RED 4 (2 notes)
Red
1998 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays
92 points
Not perfect, but certainly a very good and really quite enjoyable wine – something I guess one could actually say about quite a few other Clos des Lambrays from lesser vintages. I really liked the nose with its deep aromas of sweet dark cherries and dark berry tones nestling amidst wilder aromas of bramble and spice and earth. Very nice. The palate had a nice purity to it, with high-toned cherry notes and more dark berry notes, with a slight dried-fruited edge to it, almost haw-flake-like flavours, all this pierced with soaring acidity – quite surprising given how all the other wines were not exactly markedly fresh or bright. Tannins were very fine too. This was an unusually pure, elegant expression of Clos des Lambrays, and I found it very enjoyable. It did take awhile to get going though, opening slowly to reams of Morey spice blooming out from amidst the dark fruit. Very pretty, and really quite good. My only issue was perhaps a lack of depth on the finish at first, but that too opened up significantly, taking on a long, juicy tail in time. This was quite the charmer, and starting to drink quite well at the moment.
Red
1998 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche
93 points
Dujac normally makes a smashing CdlR, and I was expecting great things from this bottle. I must say that it was just a tad disappointing though. Very good indeed, but rather overshadowed by one or two of the other big name wines on the night. My sneaky suspicion is that the use of stems in an already hard, stemmy vintage like 1998 may have something to do with it. I must say this had a gorgeous nose, full of sweet Morey spice mingling amidst sappy blueberry aromas and damp earth. Beautiful, if just hampered by a slight glycerin edge to it. The palate had a beautifully rich, textured mouthfeel, with lovely, fresh flavours of dark cherries and bilberries interlaced by fine tannins. While not quite primary, this clearly had a little way to go in terms of development. There was another distracting little hit of glycerol in there somewhere, but that apart, it was quite a lovely drink all the way into the finish, where it just felt a little uncharacteristically dry, petering out with a little woody spice and bramble. All in all, very good without being mindblowing. I would give this another 2-3 years in the bottle to develop, but I do not think it will be one for the ages.
Flight 7 - RED 5 (2 notes)
Red
1998 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Romanée St. Vivant
95 points
Gorgeous. This was one of my very favourite wines on the night. It was everything you would want in an RSV – floral seductiveness, fragrant Vosne spice, Grand Cru weight, all tied together with great elegance. It had a glorious nose, just wafting out of the glass in waves of sweet spice and dried flowers, blackberries and black cherries, a backdrop of savoury meat and earth. Wow. This was sensual and seductive – a nose that really drew you in. Beautiful on the palate too. Soft and silky, it showed beautifully detailed flavours of dark cherries and blackberries seasoned with spice and brambly herbs and dried flowers. Lovely, sensual and complex, yet subtle wine, gentle, almost understated for all its fullness in the mouth. It had depth without weight, length without effort, gliding into graceful finish, full of fragrant spice and sweet, seductive dark fruit and florals. An absolutely gorgeous wine, drinking beautifully on the night.
Red
1998 Domaine Follin-Arbelet Romanée St. Vivant
94 points
The second of a beautiful pair of 1998 RSVs, this was another special wine. It had a nose that was at once gentler, more subtle than the Hudelot-Noellat that preceded it, but also deeper, more engaging, with dark fruited aromas tightly wound around notes of spice and dried earth and ried flowers. Really nice stuff. The palate was every bit as lovely, with deeply wound flavours of dark cherries and brighter red berries infused with a gentle floral perfume, all this framed by fine, very open-knit tannins and fresh acidity that gave a little grip at the finish. It had a thicker, creamier texture than the Hudelot-Noellat, but while this was still lacking some of the mature complexity of the previous wine, it had that same effortless grace packed into a rather more compact package. A very impressive, very enjoyable wine, and it still has it best years clearly some way ahead of it. I would give it another 4 or 5 years in the bottle before peak.
Flight 8 - RED 6 (1 note)
Red
1998 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
96 points
Whoever arranged the pairings really saved the best for the last. There were some real gems on the night – the Rousseau Chambertin and and the pair of RSVs come to mind – but this stood out, absolutely transcending its vintage and delivering what I can only describe as a true Musigny experience. It had a beautiful nose, with rich, deep aromas of blueberries and liquered dark cherries soaked with melted flowers, earth and flecked with little pinpricks of spice. Heady stuff, but it was on the palate where this really separated itself from the other wines. The depth of concentration and intensity here was quite amazing, with a solid, superbly integrated beam of flavour spreading through the mouth in layers of blueberries and dark cherries laced with a subtle violet floral tone. Blind, I would definitely have placed it as coming from a far stronger vintage. And while it was deep and powerful, with reservoirs of strength, it was also beautifully balanced and full of freshness, soaring through the palate in a pure, effortless flow. I would have called this the veritable iron fist in a velvet glove, except that silk and steel would probably be even better metaphors. The finish rounded off the wine as it started – with effortless power and length, showing lots of sweet spice and a little earth and slightly liquered fruit laced through a structure of fine tannins and fresh acidity. My wine of the night – this was amazing. And the great thing about it is that it is nowhere near peak yet – this has the chops to go on aging for a long, long time yet. I would love to try it again in 6, 8, even 10 years later. I, for one, will not be surprised to find this still alive and kicking decades down the road.