Simple Series VIII: B.A.G (Burg, Alsace, German) II

JT was back from his romp through France and Germany's vineyards, and pulled together another BAG night. One little off theme wine, and we had only one lonely Alsace, but as always, nice wine and great company made for a lovely evening. My wines of the night were quite clear for once - the Fourrier for red, and Donnhoff for the whites. Two of my favourite makers, and their wines showed why on the night.

• 2007 Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Monts-Luisants Blanc 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru

  Very different from the last time I tried it at the Domaine a year or so ago. This was far more open and quite a bit fleshier. Not sure it was all that ready yet, but it was still a very decent white Burg. The nose here was led by smoky, spicy mineral scents, layers of cream, savoury earth, a little mushroom, white fruit (pear and apple?) and little flowery hints at the edges. Pretty open and expressive I thought. With a bit of time in the glass, some honey scents came out, alongside honeysuckle flowers. Very attractive. Not a few people said that it was rather dry-Riesling like in its aromatics. The palate was rather tighter though, and clearly Chardonnay. Creamily textured, quite fleshy, but nicely balanced, with fine 2007 acidity streaming alongside some ripe, sappy fruit - ripe lemons at the fore I thought - with a chalky minerally undercurrant running alongside. Good weight across the mid-palate, surprisingly so for a 2007, and the finish was decent too, lengthy, though not exceedingly so, a bit tight, but nicely detailed and focused, with some Morey spice at spreading across the palate at the very end. I feel that this still needs some time to really integrate and get its act together - it actually tasted a lot more "together" when I tried the last glass that was leftover one night later. The last bottle will stay ferretted away for a couple more years if I can help it.

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• 2000 Domaine Prieur-Brunet Bâtard-Montrachet 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Not a bad Burg, but disappointing for a Batard. Much deeper gold colour than the Dujac. Nose had hints of saline seashells, limestoney mineral scents, lots of salted butter and some white button mushrooms. With time some woody smells wafted out. A bit muted, with all the smells drifting out in half-measures I thought, but there really should have been enough there for us to identify suspect it was a Batard. The palate was rather confusing though. It was full bodied, but somehow lacked the richness, power and drive of a Grand Cru, especially a Batard. Balace was fine, although the acid profile was very 2000, so it was never too lively. It attack with very seashelly flavours, with bits of spice, some yellow pineappley fruit, creamy butter, and some toasty popcorn note as the wine entered the finish. A little shortish for a Grand Cru here as well. Nice flavours all in all, and it did open up and improve with time in the glass, picking up more creamy weight and honeyed tones as the night went by, but it never quite hit the buttons I would expect given its pedigree.

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• 1996 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  I thought this was pretty good. It may need more time to shed the 1996 shrillness. Nevertheless, really quite pleasant on the night. Really tight when first poured, but one hour later, it opened up quite dramatically to show a really aromatic nose full of morel mushrooms, funky wet earth, damp wood, sweet red fruit scents, like cherries and raspberries, along with little mocha notes. Very much like tramping around in a forest after an autumn shower. Palate was not quite as advanced as the nose. Very fresh, really young on the attack, with lots of fresh acidity just rushing in, along with fine, silky tannins. This formed a nice frame for pure red fruit, some fresh cut flowers, and little spice notes nestling amidst pats of damp earth. Good concentration, but it was all very high-toned, very pretty - this was certainly a wine of delicacy rather than power. Finish had a little grassy, herby note. Not green or stemmy, just a little fresh herbiness. I think it needs a bit of time to fill up, because it still has a bit of the worrying 1996 thinness on the edges, where the acidity dominates. I have every confidence that it will be a lovely wine given 2-3 more years, and it should hold for some time after that. However, I do have doubts on whether the fruit will outlast the structure on this in the much longer-term.

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• 2004 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combe aux Moines Vieille Vigne 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  This was superb. Most of us thuought this was top 1er or almost Grand Cru quality. Like the Chambolle before it, this had a very aromatic nose. Lots of wood spice, red cherries, and a lush msuhroomy meatiness, all wafting out of the glass in a lovely integrated package. Palate had quite a bit of oak at first, with a rich layer of rich vanillin on the attack. It receded a little with time, but even from the first pour, there was just tons of quality underneath that. Super pure red cherries, some deep earthy goodness and a nice meaty underlayer. Some floaty herb and incense started emerging with time, possibly the only 2004 vintage marker. Otherwise, this was very Gevrey in its meaty goodness, and very Fourrier in its purity of expression. Really good concentration across the midpalate too, along with a nice structure to go with it, with fine tannins and good acidity keeping the wine honest. Finish had lots of mouthfulling wood spice (making me change my guess from Gevrey to Vosne!), along with a long pull of pure red fruit. Not a touch of 2004 green meanies here. An excellent wine all round.

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• 2002 Maison Leroy Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet

  Unsual. We had a Morey Blanc, and then a Chassagne Rouge. This was good, but not outstanding - probably the most nondescript Leroy wine I have had in a long time. A very serious, almost intellectual wine. A bit tight on the nose, but rather nice, with blueberries, a little exotic Indian spice, cardommon and cloves - all underscored with some rather austere minerally earth scents. Very clean on the palate, pure blueberries, cherries and some light, floaty perfumed flowers, almost rose water like. Finish was long and detailed, with some wood spice and a show of fine, almost powdery, but clearly firm tannins. Nice amount of depth, but this was super structured for a 2002, and seemed even more so with time in the glass, so that the structure of the wine became a bit domineering. Neverthless, the quality was there. I just wish that there was more yumminess to it. Unlike many Maison Leroys which are released only when they are somewhat ready, this seems to need quite a bit of time yet.

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• 1997 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Clos Vougeot 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  Lesson learnt (yet again) - if it tastes somwhere between a rustic Chambolle and a muggy Vosne, without being too clear, it might well be a Clos Vougeot. This was a pretty good one at that. Beautiful nose. Tons going on here. Flowers, leafy earth, spice, red fruits, black tea, chicken stock, umami - obviously some age here. Beautifully drinkable palate too. At peak I think, with clean, clear, piercingly pure flavours of blueberries and dark cherries that just zoomed across the mouth on the attack. Very focused, very nicely delineated, with some super-fresh acidity, almost pomelo-like, and velvety tannins that completed the package. Finish just lacked a bit of strength and follow through one would expect on a Grand Cru, dissipating in a burst of spice and bittersweet herbs and a bit of alcohol. Both a mark of the vintage and the vineyard maybe. Otherwise a real delight. The most ready of the wines on the night, this was just delicious.

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• 2005 Château Léoville Poyferré Pavillon de Poyferré 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  An off-theme bottle, so just a quick taste, and some brief notes. I thought this was a pretty good second wine. It had been opened for a couple of hours by the time I got to it, with a further half an hour or so sitting in the glass. A bit of funky earth on the nose, along with whiffs of tobacco, some toasty mocha acccents and buried cassis fruit scents. Pleasant enough, very typical St Julien notes I thought. Palate was rather more impressive. Clean cassis flavours showed surprising depth for a second wine, with good balancing acidity and some tobacco and a little smoke wreathing around the mid-palate. Finish had decent if unspectacular length, with some bittersweet tannins marking the wine's end. Very decent for a second wine as would be expected in 2005. Should be much better given another 5-6 years in the bottle as well.

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• 1999 Von Hövel Oberemmeler Hütte Riesling Auslese 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Opened three hours before serving, it could have used a good decanting I thought. Very pleasurable without ever quite being a stellar Auslese. Nose was very pretty. Some nectar, flowers, nectarines, honeysuckle and little lacy mineral scents all spiked with a dose of kerosene. Very Mosel. Some people actually guessed JJ Prum. Palate had a nice botrytised richness on the attack, with some treacle flavours, honey and sweet lemons wrapped in a creamily textured body. Nice balance too. Finish dips a little in power, but still had nice concentration and length, sliding away with a minerally lilt and an afternote of orange blossoms. Not terribly complex, but really pleasant in an elegant, rather understated way.

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• 2009 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese 94 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Wow. This was beautiful. Quite the wine of the night for me - and by some distance too. Incredible nose was just super flowery - osmanthus, chamomile, lavender, soap suds, all just bubbling away in the glass. Quite gorgeous really. Palate had that same intensely perfumy feel to it as well, almost reminscent of Fab soap powder in its sweet, mouthfilling flowers, with tropical notes punctuated with young Riesling flavours of ripe lemons and grapefruit. Super bright, really expressive, with lots of depth in its fruit expression, yet this had all of the unmistakeably beautiful 2009 balance, which kept it incredibly light, clean and focused so that it had an almost sparkly brilliance to it. Some mineral in the back-end just added an extra seriousness to an otherwise super playful wine. I just could not stop drinking this. A wonderful Riesling.

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• 1999 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Obviously good, but obviously too young, even from a 375ml. I guessed it as a Fritz Haag BJS GK, but could not quite place the vinatge beyond thinking it was somewhere in the mid to late 90s. Very tight nose. Some kerosene, little bits of honey, nectar and a little rubber Mosel-ness. Palate was just as young. Lots of primary grape sugars still, so it came across rather monolithic, with just some honey, sweet pear, keroense and mineral notes peeking out at points. Definitely plenty of quality there though. It was just a super integrated, balanced wine in true Fritz Haag BJS style, with a long, powerful finish that showed pinpricks of mineral as it slid away. If you have any, I would open it at least two or three days before serving or, preferably, wait at least a decade before opening a bottle.

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• 1994 Domaine Ernest Burn Pinot Gris Goldert Clos Saint Imer Sélection de Grains Nobles 92 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  A really nice wine. Orange gold in colour. Lots of botrytis on the nose, with very Pinot Gris orange blossom scents and a light dusting of earth laid over manuka honey, marmalade and boiled sugarcane notes. Palate was rich, with a slightly oily texture, but incredibly balanced, with perfumy incensed flowers, some burnt sugars, orange marmalade and dried apricot pierced through with fresh acidity. One suspects the vintage helped with providing greater acidity on the one hand, but that it also stripped the wine of some of the voluptuousness and power one would expect of an SGN at this age. Finish was typical Pinot Gris, with a slightly bittersweet orange zesty note. I liked this - I thought it was a good example of a sweet Alsatian wine. A delicious ending to a really good meal.

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