Community Tasting Note

Rote Kappelle Likes this wine:

Saturday, April 6, 2024 - As I reflect on the latest news, to the effect that even owning a bottle of wine is a sign of moral turpitude that will consign you to Hell and that passing within 10 meters of an open bottle is the equivalent of smoking at least 40,000 cigarettes an hour 24 hours a day for 100 years and will condemn you to cancer of the everything, I find this bottle a very compelling case for the benefits of an early end vs a long, miserable life.

This is a village wine and yet it has happily passed its 25th year in fine fettle. This is a tribute, of course, to a very good vintage, the Domaine owning very good vineyards and being very careful in their viticulture and oenology. That this has years ahead still is shown by the fact that on day 2 it really hits its straps, being far better than on day 1 and I was dashed happy with it on day 1.

My corks pulls like a randy 13 year old, although somewhat more cleanly. No signs of leakiness or other crimes against wine. The colour is a startlingly youthful ruby with some garnet hues. No 24 year old wine should look this young.

On day 1 this was tasty strawberry and some notes of darker fruits, with a little cinnamon and undergrowth. Really good stuff. Length and intensity way above village level expectations. One slight issue I had was that the finish was a little dry and firm, albeit the tannins were very fine. Still, the balance with the fruit was not perfect.

On day 2, the fruit has blossomed into a dark red rose; glorious to look at, better to smell and (unlike the rose) even better to drink. Lustrous dark jube fruit that swells in the mouth but dances across the palate. This is the combination that I think Pinot Noir tragics go for and I can see it. There is still a touch of undergrowth and something slightly cedary, but the wine is glorious. The tannins remain but now they provide the support, keeping the finish from getting baggy.

The thing with the count's wines are that his family have been prancing about Chambolle-Musigny for around 600 years (my God, I hate these parvenu, 'Johnny come lately' families), they have a large foothold in what was not so long ago regarded as far and away the best part of Burgundy and, after a naughty time in the 70's and 80's, they put a lot of work into their vineyards, selection at harvest and understanding the vintage before deciding how to approach things like oak treatment, approach to ferment etc. When you combine a vast amount of local knowledge with a commitment to quality and really good source material you have a recipe for even your base level wines being really good indeed.

So, here's to hell, or any place full of people who like a good time and don't believe in the divine, unless it be wine.

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