Martin Weiner Clos Vougeot Dinner: Leroy, Anne Gros, Méo-Camuzet
Martin Weiner's home in Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Tasted Friday, October 22, 2010 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 1,928 views
Introduction
I seem to have tasted a lot of Clos Vougeots recently, and reported on another recent Clos Vougeot themed BYO dinner here: http://www.rjonwine.com/2010/09/clos-vougeot-tasting-dinner/. This was the ultimate Clos Vougeot tasting, however, including at least four of the master producers from this highly variable grand cru--the Côte de Nuits' largest: Leroy, Anne Gros, Jean Grivot and Méo-Camuzet. We also got to compare a DRC, the '98 Echezeaux, and a fabulous '90 Roumier Les Amoureuses, one of my four top wines of the night.
Martin Weiner has been doing these monthly tastings of fabulous wines, which he sources and collects for the tastings, at his home in Westwood for decades. He also makes dinner and provides an array of cheeses, to keep us going in tasting through, usually, over two dozen wines. In his earlier career, Martin was California's first independent wine broker, and an importer of fine wines. I began attending his tasting dinners in 2002, when I lived in L.A. I tasted my first Leroys, great Chateauneuf du Papes, and many wonderful Bordeaux at Martin's over the years. I'm happy to count Martin as a good friend, and always look forward to seeing him, his lovely wife Carol, and his Saturday wine lunch gang (which have been meeting for weekly wine lunches for over 45 years) whenever I can get down to L.A. I continue to attend Martin's Burgundy themed dinners, usually once a quarter (his other typical themes are top Bordeaux producers, and cult Cali Cabs, but he's also done wonderful Northern Rhone, Chateauneuf du Pape, and Italian themed dinners). Martin put together an enticing bunch of some of the best Clos Vougeots for this tasting, along with a few wonderful wines from neighboring vineyards--Les Amoureuses, Echezeaux and Grands-Echezeaux--so, of course, I had to be there.
My wines of the night, all of which I scored 95 points or higher, were the beautiful '98 Leroy Clos Vougeot, the very youthful but most impressive '05 Leroy, the exquisite '90 Roumier Les Amoureuses and the wonderfully layered '02 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot. Also very memorable were the '05 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux--the best Echezeaux I've ever tasted--and the very youthful but enchanting '05 Lamarche Clos Vougeot. For more specific comments on each flight, see the TNs and thoughts below.
Flight 1 - First Flight (3 Notes)
We started with a totally unknown Clos Vougeot producer. Although this wine, from Bouvier-Girodet (presumably a small negociant), was from a great Burgundy vintage, there was nothing special about this bottling at all (which Martin obtained from a cellar he was asked to appraise recently, and poured as an obscure curiousity). Next were two Girardin VV bottlings, both of which were good Clos Vougeot, but also very youthful yet. The '05 is showing some oak, less than Girardin used in the past, and I think it will integrate well with time.
Flight 2 - Second Flight (3 Notes)
The best of this second flight was the wonderful '05 Lamarche, which was very youthful, but enchanting on the nose and palate. I'd love to find and cellar some of this bottling. Lamarche is one of those producers whose slice of the vineyard is down toward the bottom of the hill, abutting the road (like Leroy), who nonetheless makes Clos Vougeots of admirable quality. The '04 Bouchard had none of the "green meanies"--split pea on the nose and palate--I've come to associate with that unfortunate vintage (for red Burgundy), which was a relief. The '06 Boillot was very young and tight, and gave me a sense of stem inclusion.
Flight 3 - Echezeaux Flight (3 Notes)
For this flight, we explored two of Clos Vougeot's grand cru neighbors: Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux. As mentioned above, the '05 Emannuel Rouget Echezeaux is a very impressive wine, and the best wine I've tasted from that vineyard. I was underwhelmed by the other two wines in this flight, and particularly surprised at the poor showing of the Hudelot-Noellat, from a decent producer that owns a very well situated, top-of-the-hill segment of the vineyard (as well as a slice at the bottom of the hill). Maybe it was the very hot vintage that marred this wine, which did show mainly baked fruit characteristics.
Flight 4 - Blind Flight (2 Notes)
Martin often includes a blind wine or two in his tastings, and this time it was an '05 Corton, which virtually everyone took for a good Burgundy, and an '03 Sea Smoke, provided by a member of the Sea Smoke family who was in attendance, Poppy Davis. Neither of these wines, however, tasted much like our Clos Vougeots which were the focus of the evening.
Flight 5 - Anne Gros and Jean Grivot Flight (3 Notes)
This flight was a major step up, as Anne Gros is always one of my favorite producers of Clos Vougeot, and these wonderfully concentrated and tasty samples, from 2000 and 2002, were great examples of Ms. Gros's winemaking, from one of the Clos's prized unofficial lieux dits, Le Grand Maupertui. The third wine in the flight, the '02 Jean Grivot, is from a very large segment of the vineyard down the hill, abutting the road. I found it a little oaky, and not in the same league as the Anne Gros's.
Flight 6 - Méo-Camuzet Flight (3 Notes)
Next we tasted from two producers I get to taste a fair amount of here in Silicon Valley (in part because they are favorites at Vin Vino in Palo Alto, which does regular tastings of them). The two Méo-Camuzets were both solid and delicious, and should be even more impressive with more years of age. The Mongeard-Mugneret was one of the more mature wines of the evening, and respectable, but not likely to develop much more from how it's showing now.
Flight 7 - Older Clos Vougeot and Neighbors Flight (4 Notes)
We next moved on to two of our most mature Clos Vougeot samples, along with a '98 DRC Echezeaux, and the fabulous '90 Roumier Les Amoureuses. The '95 Jadot was showing well; the '90 Gros Frere et Soeur, from the other unofficial lieux-dits of Clos Vougeot, Musigni, was less impressive for the great vintage--'90--than I would have expected. The '98 DRC has a wealth of dry extract and still integrating oak--I'd like to try it again in another 10 years, and it should continue to age beautifully for decades. The '90 Roumier was a real treat, and a delight to taste after the last bottle of it I tried was corked.
Flight 8 - Domaine Leroy Flight (4 Notes)
Our ultimate flight, four bottlings from the master producer, Bize Leroy, were all impressive and delicious. The '98 stood out for drinking now, and the '05 is one of the greatest Clos Vougeots I've ever had, and should be amazing in another decade or two. This was a great way to end the evening--I think Leroy's very concentrated style compliments the fruit from her downslope portion of this Grand Cru very well.
2002 Bouvier-Girodet Clos Vougeot 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Medium dark cherry red color with pale meniscus; sous bois, oak, mint, herbal nose; tart cranberry, herbal, sous bois, mineral palate with grip, needs 5-6 years; medium-plus finish
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2005 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Clos Vougeot Vieilles Vignes 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Dark cherry red color; tart cranberry, tart red fruit, tart strawberry, raspberry nose; tight, rich, raspberry, strawberry, tart cherry palate with oak that should integrate with time; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.
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2003 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Clos Vougeot Vieilles Vignes 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Bricking dark cherry red color with pale meniscus; sous bois, menthol, oak nose; tart cherry, cranberry, oak, mineral palate with sweet, firm tannins, needs 3-5 years; medium-plus finish
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