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A Tasting of Chambolle-Musigny Village Wines from the 2005 Vintage
San Francisco
Tasted May 16, 2021 by drwine2001 with 246 views
Introduction
Thanks to improving public health and loosening of restrictions, we were able to gather safely to assess the current status of a small slice of 2005 red Burgundy. All of the wines were opened 2 to 3 hours beforehand and tasted blind without knowledge of which producers were being represented. We were fortunate to get through all of the 2005's without any cork taint, only to have this problem rear its head in a cherished older bottle.
Flight 1 - To Start (1 note)
White - Sparkling
2012 Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésimé
Two bottles which were identical. Hay colored. Dry, tart, herbal, chalky, and high acid. Some lemon emerges. Very good young Blanc de Blancs.
Flight 2 - 2005's-Part 1 (7 notes)
Red
2005 Patrice Rion Chambolle-Musigny
Light red. Strong char at first, then increasingly fragrant over time. Delicious, relatively open earthy red fruit followed by slightly grainy tannin. Delicate, long, very Chambolle.
Red
2005 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Chambolle-Musigny
Light ruby. Floral and smoky. Slightly more sappy than the Rion but less fruit and more earth. Backward, very woody base.
Red
2005 Frédéric Magnien Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes
Ruby. Slightly pungent and gamy. Supple, juicy cherry atop an earthy base. Well balanced with good acidity. Others were more put off by the amount of wood.
Red
2005 Geantet-Pansiot Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes
Even ruby. Fragrant and quite floral. Medium weight, lots of soil. Smoke, savory dark red fruit, herb, and excellent acidity with a citric lift. Full of life and drinking wonderfully now. This was almost unanimously the favorite wine of the flight and a great surprise.
Red
2005 Georges Descombes Morgon Vieilles Vignes
Inserted as a ringer in a flight of 2005 Chambolle-Musigny. Light red. Aromatic red fruit with some brettanomyces showing. Lighter weight, briary, saline, chewy tannins. Several tasters picked it as out of place but did not identify it as Gamay.
Red
2005 Domaine Lignier-Michelot Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes
Light ruby. Savory elements and dark cherry on the nose. Sweet, almost candied red fruit on the attack. Round and sappy, but great back end acidity and soil. Quite a crowd pleaser in its New World style, but at the same time fairly backward and tannic.
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Red
2015 Georges Lignier et Fils Chambolle-Musigny
Another ringer in a 2005 flight. Light ruby. Very herbal aromas. Intriguing mix of earth, fruit, and funk. Supple, smoky, long soil finish. This is essentially ready and more advanced than most of the 2005's we tasted today.
Flight 3 - 2005's-Part 2 (6 notes)
Red
2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny
Even ruby. Serious dark fruit nose. Medium weight. Closed, blackberry fruit with a tinge of blueberry, earthy finish. Amazing for village level wine and completely unready at age 16.
And on the second night, seamless and much more fluid with a magical dance of soil and perfectly ripe fruit. What a wine! Bigger than the great 2002 Mugnier Chambolle but just as memorable.
And on the second night, seamless and much more fluid with a magical dance of soil and perfectly ripe fruit. What a wine! Bigger than the great 2002 Mugnier Chambolle but just as memorable.
Red
2005 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny
Light ruby. Sweet, spicy scents. Light to medium weight, bright acidity, increasingly fragrant green herbal components, and then a chocolatey finish. Completely different from the Mugnier that came before it, but also well above class. It is the acidity here that will carry the wine forward for many years.
Red
2005 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes
Deep ruby. Menthol, volatile acidity, blueberry, and some porty overripeness. On the palate, pure fruit with great acidity and soil. Not a typical elegant Bertheau and very hard to read. Some very promising aspects, but real questions about the overall balance.
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Red
2005 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny
Medium ruby. Strawberry aromas. Light to medium weight. Lively, supple, and saline yet with fruit confiture sweetness. Sneaky power and length. I absolutely loved this, and it is remarkably complete for a wine at this level.
Some alcohol shows on the second night, but the red fruit marches on-juicy, deep, and sweet.
Some alcohol shows on the second night, but the red fruit marches on-juicy, deep, and sweet.
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Red
2005 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Chambolle-Musigny
Penetrating mint scents. Bigger, very serious, backward wine. Stemmy black fruit, high acidity, grippy tannic finish accompanied by gentle soil. Wow, this is a brute compared to everything else in this line up. Hold for 10 or 15 more years???
Red
2005 Dujac Fils et Père Chambolle-Musigny
Light ruby. Reticent nose. Tons of soil and black fruit here. Great balance and feel, but it finishes serious and tannic. I really admired this, but it is meant to be consumed well down the road.
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Flight 4 - Older Stuff (2 notes)
Red
1995 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses
Red center with slight browning. Even after 4 hours of air, rather thin and rigid. One gets the feeling that it is trying hard to be sweet but not succeeding. Coming back to it 3 hours after that, it still has a bit of funkiness but has fleshed out somewhat and displays more soil. The finish is harshly tannic. In the end, I have to write it off as awkward, lacking charm, and overall hugely disappointing.
Red
1999 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares
flawed
How very tragic to open a bottle of this and find out that it is corked.
Flight 5 - To Finish (1 note)
White - Sweet/Dessert
1990 Domaine des Baumard Coteaux du Layon
Golden. Honeyed. Luscious tropical fruit, yellow pear, and etching acidity. What's not to like? In great shape at 30+ years of age.
Closing
We were struck by the consistency and quality level of these wines, although there was some variability in how successful various vignerons were in preserving Chambolle typicity in the face of such a structured vintage. While some of the wines are perfectly delicious now, everything we tasted could benefit from more time in bottle, and the bigger, more backward wines such as Mugnier demand it. The second flight of wines was particularly impressive and serious for wines at this rung of the ladder. If this sampling provides any indication, continued patience with the 2005's will be rewarded, even at the lower tiers.