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2001 Burgundy Grand Cru Dinner
Park Palace, Grand Park Hotel
Tasted August 10, 2014 by Paul S with 799 views
Introduction
This was the fourth installment in a series of red Burgundy vintage retrospectives (having already done 1997, 1998 and, with a slightly different group, 2000). We fully expected this to be the strongest showing so far, but I think it is fair to say that the wines far outstripped even our own expectations – they were magnificent. Transparent, juicy, gloriously pure and speaking ever so eloquently of their terroir - the very epitome of all I love about Burgundy.
Character-wise, the wines showed darker, more blue-fruited expressions along with soft, silky tannins and wonderfully integrated acidity, all showing that lovely juicy purity that I noted earlier. Most of them also had charming citrusy notes of orange peel and sour plums. Almost all the wines were drinking beautifully, at or on the cusp of full maturity. To be fair, the generous BYO offerings that we had were amongst the top bracket of the vintage, but they were remarkable in that almost every one married elegance and finesse to good delicious depth and breadth.
Finally, it is a testimony to how well these wines transparent the wiens were that it was terroir that shown through in almost evert bottle rather than the individual makers. If there is anyone vintage to use in teaching a novice about terroir, this would be it. This was truly a Burgundy drinkers vintage, and one that has now truly come of age. With the great wine, good food, and lovely company, this night will be hard to beat!
NB: The wines were served semi-blind. We knew what the line-up was, but Iggy and I wrapped them up in pairs and trios and served them in jumbled order. Even the two of us did not quite know what was in each flight.
Flight 1 - WHITES (3 notes)
White
2001 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles
93 points
What a lovely way to start the evening. This was a lighter, more elegant expression of Pucelles than what I would normally associate with Leflaive, but boy was it drinking nicely. It had an almost pretty nose, with lovely aromas of ripe yellow fruit and lemon peel, together with a little perfumy, floral note and, with time, a touch of earthy mineral and a little steely tang. This was less stony, gunflinty than usual, rather less showy. The palate had a lovely finesse to it, with lemony juiciness running through flavours of green apples shading into redder varieties on the midpalate. While there was good depth, it was not as powerful as certain vintages. However, the wine was finely detailed and had a lovely litheness to it. Nice finish too with a round, supple mouthfeel and subtle length to its flavours of white fruit seasoned with a little spice. This was unusually elegant and very delicious. Good stuff, drinking beautifully on the night.
White
2001 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet
93 points
Very good. Opened 2 hours before serving, it was nicely expressive by the time we got to it, starting with a deep nose of slightly funky, earthy scents and wafts of chalk, ripe apple flesh and white melon aromas, with just little bit of spice at the sides. The palate had a lovely sense of strength to it, with a full attack showing ripe white fruit and ripe melons and then sweeter stone-fruited accents towards the midpalate. There was something exotic there as well, almost a shade of passionfruit. However, this was all cut by lemony, limey acidity that kept the wine feeling really dry and very defined even with all its ripeness. It ended in a long, creamily textured finish, with ripe yellow fruit and another blush of spice. There was a threat of alcohol heat in there, but not quite enough to distract. This needs a bit of time still – for all its generous ripeness, it was the acidity that seemed to be a dominant characteristic, which gave the wine a slightly dry, angular feel with a real firm spine running through from attack to finish. Most of us actually thought that this resembled a Chevalier Montrachet more with its definition and slightly austere structure. I think this will open up and show more true to terroir with time though. Very good – but give it a few years more. 93+
White
2001 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet
94 points
This was very, very good indeed. While the Sauzet Monty that came earlier drank more like a Chevalier, this ironically seemed a little less Chevy-like than normal. Popped and poured, it had a lovely nose of sweet cream and white roses, a bit of chalk, and soft white peach and apple aromas, all ringed by a lifted spiciness with dashes of cumin at the sides. The palate was quite lovely to drink, showing more of those soft white peach and apple flesh flavours. It felt a bit softer, and more diffused than I would normally associate with a Leflaive Chevy at this age, but it seemed to gain structure with time and air, showing a more pronounced minerality and a beguiling spiciness, with more of that fragrant cumin character coming in on the midpalate. Lovely. Beyond that, the wine wound its way into a long, juicy finish laced with a nice chalky undertone. This was still an elegant wine, with a nice subtle intensity to it, but it was also clearly bigger, more powerful, fleshier than usual, with a ripe, generous mouthfeel that made most of us think Batard or Bienvenue instead of a Chevalier. A really nice wine though, and drinking very well indeed.
Flight 2 - RED FLIGHT 1 (2 notes)
Red
2001 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin
93 points
Unexpectedly delicious. The first of the reds, this was a marker that really set the standard for the rest of the night. The nose was actually really pretty, with perfumy, floral wafts of violets and ripe blueberries, alongside funkier sous bois notes and a little herby twang that made me guess that this was the Faiveley. The palate was rather un-Faiveley though, even a bit un-Mazis like. There was a firm, uncompromising sense of structure and grip to it that spoke to the terroir, but it was unusually elegant, with a juicy mouthful of blueberries and dark cherries and a little drift of flowers resting on the mellowing remnant of fine, powdery tannins. I was very taken by this – it was very yummy, with a lovely clarity to it. Good finish too - a little gentler and less grippy than the attack and midpalate, it pulled away in a fresh, rather linear backpalate that showed a touch of spice and just the tiniest kiss of dried herb. Quite yummy. This was very good indeed and, while drinking nicely now, it still has some room for growth over the next few years.
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Red
2001 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine Collignon Henri Boillot
92 points
Possibly the weakest wine of the night, but such was the quality of the representation we had that this was no slight to the wine, which was actually decently good in its own right. The nose was a bit more classically Gevrey than the Faiveley Mazis that preceded it, with a slightly earthy sous bois tone underneath red fruited aromas, all dotted with a little herb and spice – quite lovely actually. The palate had a very fine structure and a nice juiciness running through full flavours of cherries and blueberries. There was something a little austere and backward underneath the fruit, but the wine did round up some after sitting in the glass, taking on a nicely elegant fullness on the midpalate. This may sound a little obtuse, but I found this wine very "Burgundian", with a finesse and transparency to it even in the midst of a more austere character, especially as it slipped in a long finish flecked with mineral and spice. Nice, but this certainly needs a bit of time yet – I would say 3-4 years more at least. 92+
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Flight 3 - RED FLIGHT 2 (3 notes)
Red
2001 Domaine Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses
95 points
Wow. This was the first wine in a superb flight – probably one of the most delightful trios I have had in a long, long time. It had a wonderful nose, just tumbling out of the glass with perfumed aromas of violet florals dancing around supple red-fruited scents, a little earth and hints of fragrant spice. A glorious nose. The palate was elegance personified, with silky tannins and perfect, juicy balance, yet with something rather naughtily delicious in its seductively velvety flavours of cherries and orange peel, sour plums and a little pats of earth. One sip of this and the rather hackneyed description of Les Amoureuses being Sex-in-the-Glass makes perfect sense all over again. Wonderful stuff. Lovely finish too, it was every bit as transparent as the rest of the wine, with a gentle caress of sour plums and a kiss of spice carried away on a little stream of citrusy freshness. I could drink this all night long. It is a a great wine, showing absolutely wonderfully – I had quite forgotten having had this some months back, and while I felt back then that it needed a bit more time yet, this bottle was at peak. The sharp edges had rounded off, any tight knots had loosened up, and the wine has just bloomed into an absolute beauty. Amazing stuff. I liked this even more than the superb Vogue Amoureuese that came after, and that is saying a lot.
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Red
2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses
94 points
Another truly wonderful bottle of Les Amoureuses, even if this was a little half-step behind the Groffier in sheer virtuosity. It had a lovely nose, almost a richer, slightly riper twin of the Groffier’s, showing ripe, slightly liquered aromas of blueberries and rich layers of violet flowers, with some earth and spice and a touch of oak at the extremes of the bouquet. The palate was a little less exuberant than on the Groffier, but it was still wonderfully open, with a juicy, transparent feel and a beautiful silkiness to otherwise deep flavours of blueberries and cherries. These were met with tarter shades of sour plums and orange peel on the midpalate, and then some fragrant spice and earth, a hint of bittersweet herb, and a final lilt of flower stalks through to a long, silky finish. The wine had this wonderfully sexy, seductive feel to it, yet, like the Groffier, it was such a transparent expression of its terroir that that the entire table guessed what it was very quickly. In fact, the terroir shone through so clearly with these two wines that it was equally unsurprising that we actually had trouble guessing which one was the Vogüé and which was the Groffier – they just both tasted like Les Amoureuses. A wonderful wine, this was a joy to drink.
Red
2001 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny
95 points
What a way to round up a trio of wines – a knockout Musigny coming after two brilliant bottles of Les Amoureuses. I thought that the 1er Crus were drinking better and were probably more enjoyable on the night, but there was no doubt that this was the real Grand Cru amongst its flight. The nose was deeper, earthier, spicier, with bigger, yet subtler and more deeply wound aromas of earth and undergrowth, blueberries and violets, with a little streak of chalk running through the bouquet. Really lovely. Great palate too. It was surprising ready to drink, very soft and velvety for a relatively young Mugnier Moose. It was very complete though, with ringingly clear notes of blueberries that were so transparent that the wine came across almost light-footed. Like all the best Musignies though, move beyond the deceptive shallows and you are at once plunged into a palate of real depth and effortlessly intensity. It was just so subtle and effortless that you never felt the weight and heft on it. Make no mistake though – this was a class up from the pair of Les Amoureuses. It had a lovely finish too - long, subtle and beautiful, with stone and earth and mineral on the backpalate. A great wine, starting to show nicely, but it needs time yet. It certainly had a tighter, less giving feel than the Amoureuses. I would say 5-6 years more.
Flight 4 - RED FLIGHT 3 (2 notes)
Red
2001 Domaine Trapet Chambertin
94 points
6 years since the last time I tried this and, boy, has it ever come around well. This was a noble wine – a true Chambertin in every sense. This had a lovely Gevrey nose, with a bed of earth and chalk and spice and just that little bit of savoury meatiness running beneath perfumy aromas of red cherries and raspberries and floral shades, and then some of the more blue-fruited aromas characteristic of the vintage and a slight hint of oak at the edge of the bouquet. Nice. The palate was really solid. It had a twist of the citrusy sour plums and orange peel notes that marked almost all of the 2001s that we had, and then juicy flavours of red cherries and berries on the midpalate. Like the Musigny before it, this was a really complete wine – it was perfectly integrated, with an admirable clarity and effortless power wed to a noble structure of fine, open-knit tannins and juicy acidity. Lovely finish too, with clear, juicy fruit seasoned with a little spice. An absolutely superb Chambertin - night and day from the rather anaemic bottle in 2008. Bravo.
Red
2001 Domaine Robert Groffier Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
94 points
As much as the Trapet before this was a classic Chambertin, this was a classic Beze – a feminine foil to the noble, more masculine Trapet. To me, this is a testament to just how transparent the 2001 vintage is, with the best wine speaking ever so eloquently of their terroir. This was a night where the textbook differences between Chambertin and Clos de Beze shone through beyond the makers’ styles. This wine had a wonderful, wonderful nose, with perfumed wafts of red fruited raspberries and floral violets alongside gentle notes of earth and spice. Lovely stuff. The palate had a lovely lushness to it, combining strength and power with wonderful balance and transperancy. It was drinking wonderfully too - completely integrated, with soft, velvety tannins wrapped around subtly full, juicy flavours of sweet cherries and berries seasoned with spice and earth. Delicious stuff all the way into a lush, full finish, with a linger of red fruits and a hint of flowers. A beautiful wine, quite at peak.
Flight 5 - RED FLIGHT 4 (2 notes)
Red
2001 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares
95 points
The Bonnes Mares flight almost got lost in the midst of a veritable deluge of great wines, but on reflection, this was a pair that could easily have produced the wine of the night in almost any other dinner. The Roumier was especially lovely, with a clarity of expression and lightness of feet that is sometimes missing from the domaine’s wines. It had a lovely nose, perched closer to Morey than Chambolle in character, with rich scents of blueberry, orange peel and violet flowers amidst earthier aromas of soil, spice and a little Chinese herb - a wonderfully fragrant bouquet. The palate married masculine strength and tension with a beautifully transparent feel, with crystal clear notes of blueberries shading into juicy red-fruited flavours seasoned with touches of warm spice. There was a lovely spine of fine, but still grippy tannins and superb minerality underneath all that, pulling away from the midpalate and into a tremendously long, powerful finish, full of earth and slate that went on and on in the backpalate. This was something special – the sleeper of the night, perhaps lost in the midst of more showy wines, but one of the best wines of a very strong line-up indeed. Unlike some of the other wines, which were drinking beautifully, it still has some way to go as well. I would give it 5-10 years, by which time, it should be a real knockout.
Red
2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares
93 points
Third time round and quite similar impressions to the last two bottles. A good Bonnes Mares – not as outstanding say as the Roumier that preceded it, but every bit a solid wine. The nose was full of sweet tones of ripe blueberries on an even earthier backdrop than the Roumier’s – very Vogue in character. The palate, however, was extremely clean and clear, with a very unusually elegant, light, even flighty style for a Vogue wine, showing juicy blueberries and a seasoning of spice at the fore. Peer under the cover though, and there is a lot of deceptive depth on the wine, with a nice fullness on the midpalate leading into a gentle, even elegant finish with juicy acidity and fine tannins wrapped around shades of spice. Perhaps still a little on the simple side, especially when placed next to the compellingly complex Roumier Bonnes Mares, but this was very good indeed. The structure is already softening, and so it is no crime to drink it now, but I do think a couple more years to open up would do it some good.
Flight 6 - RED FLIGHT 5 (2 notes)
Red
2001 Gros Frère et Sœur Richebourg
93 points
Quite delicious. This was drinking nicely and, like so many of the other wines on the night, showed off its terroir beautifully. It had a deep, powerful nose, with spice and earth and meat and deep draws of dark cherries and berries – as pure a Richebourg bouquet as I have ever come across. The palate was drinking ever so nicely, with cool, dark-fruited tones of black cherries and blackberries and a midpalate more in the blue-fruited spectrum, all showing a nice purity. This was met with a lovely Vosne spiciness and a solid spine of juicy acidity and almost saline minerality. There was a nice sense of power and strength without any heaviness and a real stickability on the finish. This was lovely drinking without quite hitting the heights of some of the wines in the earlier flights.
Red
2001 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Richebourg
93 points
This is one of the only wines on the night that was really rather too young to drink. It did have a lovely, rather open nose, with a some meatiness, a whiff of sous bois and little bits of smoky herbs and spice hovering around fragrant dark fruit and blueberry notes. I liked that bouquet with its little smoky character. The palate had a very youthful feel to it. While it was more blue-fruited on the nose, it was all about juicy red fruit flavours in the mouth, with sweet cherries leading into slightly more mature tones of haw flakes. There was a lovely ripe fullness to the fruit, but this was wed to fresher, more citrus flavours of orange peel and sour plums as well. A lovely wine, this married strength with elegance and finesse, showing a bit of softness after the midpalate, just before a long grip of fine tannins asserted themselves at the finish. Very classy, but still a bit tight, still a bit reticent, I would say this needs another 5-6 years yet. 93+
Flight 7 - RED FLIGHT 6 (2 notes)
Red
2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg
95 points
Outstanding. The best of the three Richebourgs by some distance, this was brilliant, only suffering because it was placed next to the superlative 2001 DRC Romanee St Vivant rather than its brethren. This had a lovely nose, with dark fruited accents of blueberries and blackberries, and little shades of earth and wood spice and a hint of DRC herb – a truly beautiful bouquet. The palate was surprisingly open and giving, with a lovely expression of cool blue fruit. This had all the powerful fullness and strength that you would expect of a top-notch Richebourg, yet it was still so very elegant, couched in the finest tannins and just beautifully integrated acidity. From the attack, cool blueberry flavours were kissed by juicy sour plums and orange peel, and then layers of woody Vosne spice, with marsala, cumin, cloves nutmeg, all tumbling onto the midpalate. Lovely stuff. Full, delicious and beautifully poised. Great finish too, long, juicy, powerful, with blueberries and sweeter preserved fruit laced with more of that lovely spice. A complete, brilliant wine, drinking nicely on the night. Watch this space though - I think the wine has a long way to go yet. This will be great to try again in 5 years.
Red
2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant
97 points
The wine of the night – this was truly breathtaking. It had an amazing nose, fanning out from the glass in a multiplicity of beguiling scents, from cigar smoke to glorious woody spice – cedar and sandlewood, burnt ends and cherry wood over a warm fire – all drifting over a sweetly perfumed core of dark cherries and violet flowers, and then a little tail of minerality kicking on behind. Glorious stuff. The palate was just about perfect on the night. It was deep, delicious and powerful, with all the sinewy strength of a great Vosne Grand Cru, but this was also soft, seductive and lushly elegant, showing a superb clarity in deep, creamily textured reservoirs of dark cherries, wild berries and orange peel. For all its strength and depth, this was a wine with an absolutely feminine shape, it was so pure and transparent that one could imagine seeing all the way through the fruit right through to the terroir even as it enveloped the palate in layers of silky flavour. There was a serious backbone behind all that though, with lovely integrated acidity and the finest tannins running right through the entire palate into a tremendous finish, where juicy wild berry notes were wrapped around a seemingly endless tail of fragrant wood spice, savoury herb and a lovely floral perfume. Wow. An incredible wine, drinking almost at peak, this took my breath away.
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