A Magnificent Burgundy Afternoon

San Francisco
Tasted Sunday, October 3, 2021 by drwine2001 with 224 views

Introduction

A beautiful, warm early fall day provided the perfect backdrop for a "back to the future" leisurely lunch tasting with perfectly stored wines provided by our incredibly generous host. Any of these gems served alone would have made for a memorable occasion. To drink them all together in one sitting was just mind boggling. Mark, thank you for giving us a preview of true post-pandemic joy and offering an incredible array of wines that most of us have never drunk before and will never encounter again. An event of a lifetime, made even more special by the timing.

Flight 1 - Pre-Wine (1 Note)

Flight 2 - 2011 Meursault Perrières (4 Notes)

  • 2011 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

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

    Yellow. Caramel and citrus. Wonderfully creamy orange flavors with great acidity and texture that does not derive from too much oak. Superb soil finish. Harmonious, deep, persistent, and still bright. I have had limited but decidedly mixed experience with Coche wines due to the wood sticking out, but a bottle like this makes me wonder if I've just tried them too young before the oak has had a chance to integrate.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

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

    Light yellow. Lemon and slight reduction. Less wood than the Coche before it, but slightly more toast came out over time. Elegant, mineral, penetrating citrus with some bitters on the finish. Refined and texturally a gem. Of the 4 wines in the flight, this is the one I would have had the hardest time identifying as a Meursault Perrières since it is not a typical powerhouse. Regardless, it is a beauty.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2011 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

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

    Full yellow. Classic hazelnut along with some churned butter. Rich, round, and deep with an excellent to outstanding finish replete with earth and acidity. Fantastic texture with some wood. Succulent, great balance. Others thought this might be slightly oxidized, but I found nothing except for the positive presence of light Meursault nuttiness.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

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

    Yellow. Nutty, toasty aroma with a lift of citrus zest. Somewhat reduced and quite a thwack of oak at the end. Excellent flavor and length but a bit looser than the other wines without the same crisp acidity. On the ponderous end of things, and my least favorite of the flight.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 3 - 2004 Grand Cru Whites (4 Notes)

  • 2004 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    Yellow. Lemon and oyster shell. Wow. Fabulously fresh, poised, subtle, delicious, and long. Still young, but pretty much perfect Grand Cru Chablis, heck, Grand Cru anything!

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2004 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    Tulip colored. Toasty, rich nose that is not oriented toward fruit. Ever so slightly reduced, but creamy, deep bitter orange flavor. Still incredibly youthful. Large boned, really grand scale. No shortage of oak, but it works. That said, I enjoyed the 2011 Perrières slightly more for its more complete absorption of the wood.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2004 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Montrachet Flawed

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    This was substituted for a Colin-Morey Chevalier-Montrachet which was oxidized, and tragically, so was this. Deep yellow brown color, maderized nose. Full bodied with moderate oak, you could still appreciate an excellent wine underneath all this.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2004 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Le Montrachet

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Full yellow. Floral and penetrating. Laid back, complex flavors of herbs and citrus. Wonderful mouth feel and length with soil coming through on the finish. Elegant, not at all flashy, but really quite majestic. Great showing for an an underdog producer in this heavyweight flight.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 4 - Lunch Wines (2 Notes)

Flight 5 - DRC Mini Vertical (5 Notes)

  • 2004 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

    Light ruby. Stemmy and herbal. Penetrating and quite sappy with green tones but certainly not objectionable. Real sweetness and spice with more air, soil finish, grand acidity, relatively shorter finish. Not a great wine, but an amazing 2004 which runs circles around anything else I've ever had from this vintage.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2003 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru

    Ruby. Ripe, spicy, heady nose. Concentrated sweet red fruit and creosote with some citrus and sound acidity. Chocolatey finish with some remaining tannin and soil. Not too heavy or roasted. Slightly gritty, shorter finish. Like the 2004, this completely overperforms the vintage. Yes, a little New Worldish but impressive nonetheless.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux Flawed

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

    Light ruby. Moderately corked. Medium weight, earthy, tantalizing sweet fruit still easy to appreciate. Sigh.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

    Ruby. Fragrant and stemmy. Citrus peel and herb. Suave, long, rich, and chocolatey richness. Deep, long, still tannic, but obviously fantastic. This just builds relentlessly over time and seems utterly classic. What presence and discrete power! I wish I could taste it in another 20 years. My favorite of the DRC flight and the only one I had tasted before.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru

    Dull light ruby. Perfumed and lightly stemmy. Lighter bodied than the 2001 Richebourg but more overt sweet fruit and spice. Gorgeous lacy texture, outstanding acidity and soil, and impressive drive for a 2000. Incredibly delicious and seductive. Perhaps best over the next few years, but this has already outpaced and outlived the vast majority of reds from this vintage. The Richebourg is the one that will make old bones, though.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 6 - 1999 Red Burgundy-Grand Cru and Grand Cru Wannabes (5 Notes)

Flight 7 - Dessert (1 Note)

×
×