Mike Grammer Comes to Town

Dino, Washington DC
Tasted Sunday, October 9, 2011 by tooch with 984 views

Introduction

Mike Grammer was in town from Toronto and a group of us got together to welcome him with some Burgundies (among some other goodies). For me, the whites stole the show with their elegance and power while some of the reds needed more time to really strut their stuff.

The team at Dino did a great job keeping fresh glasses available and it was nice to see Dean again. It was great seeing familiar faces and making new friends, too. Thanks to everyone for bringing such great wines - despite three flawed bottles, I still managed to have a wonderful time!

Flight 1 - Opening Bubbles (3 Notes)

A great way to start the night. Each champagne was categorically unique - a great way to explore the genre.

Flight 2 - White Wines (4 Notes)

The Rhys was served blind and Chris threw in a lovely Spatlese at the end of the flight. All four wines were knockouts and I could have easily spent an entire night with any of them.

  • 2008 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard 92 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Served blind during a White Burgundy flight, this stood out with its riper profile, but could have easily fooled me if I hadn't know the person who brought it better! Had the unmistakable California chardonnay tone of almond skin, ripe fruit, with flint. The palate was rich, but precise and had a wonderful elegance to it. Despite the riper fruit profile, this does stand out to me as one of the finer examples of California Chardonnay I've had.

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  • 2009 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points

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

    Despite coming from a riper vintage, this has the characteristics of a much cooler one. The nose is expressive with dense flinty hazelnuts, white florals, and some tidal pool characteristics. The palate trumps the nose with a silky elegance more common on older wines with subtle smoke, florals elements and some orchard fruit. While enjoyable now, I think this holds much promise for the future.

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  • 1992 Verget Chevalier-Montrachet 96 Points

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

    Kevin noted that finding precise 1992s can be tricky due to the warmer vintage...luckily, this wine isn't clunky, sappy, round or any other negative adjective usually applied to the wines of warmer years. The aromas here were deep, expressive, layered and complex...a nose that forces you to lose track of time. There was this warm tidal pool note that I get on a lot of white burgundy with a lithe flinty-ness that was incredibly feminine and beautiful. The palate delivered with white fruit, subtle honeyed pear, and a creaminess that wasn't heavy or clunky. Amazingly high quality - big thanks to Cole for bringing this along.

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  • 1991 Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Riesling Spätlese Nr. 2 Auction 93 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Very light color with a light touch of boytritis on the nose. It had denser tones of white florals, lanolin, some petrol and smokey minerals. The palate had layers of florals and a wonderfully vibrant rockiness. Lots of life to this wine too. Thanks to Chris for bringing this one along!

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Flight 3 - 2002 Burgundies (2 Notes)

Kicked off the reds with the two 2002s at the table. The Corton was very nice, and Truchot was the most controversial wine of the night...was it corked or wasn't it???

  • 2002 Maison Bertrand Ambroise Corton-Le Rognet 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

    A lot of us at the table thought this had a distinct olive note to it...eerily reminiscent of a Northern Rhone syrah and not something I usually equate with Burgundy. Overall, the palate was dark with a mushroom broth tone to it and a violet and red berry lift on the finish. Thought this was great!

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  • 2002 Domaine Truchot-Martin Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes Flawed

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

    Probably the most controversial wine at dinner on this night. A handful of us thought this was flawed while another handful thought it was correct. Sadly, I was in the flawed camp with Mike and Kevin - citing a VERY subtle corked tone on the nose. To me, the palate didn't show the cardboard note that usually accompanies the pine-sol nose but others picked it up. I got a nice brothy-ness on the palate with dark florals, red berries and some charcoal. Thanks to Maureen for bringing this along!

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Flight 4 - 2001 Charmes-Chambertin Flight (3 Notes)

This was the best flight of reds of the night. All three came across young (to me) but with extreme potential.

  • 2001 Domaine Denis Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

    Of the reds, this was probably my favorite. The nose was just loaded with dark spices, violets, mushrooms, currants and fall leaves. Much like the Verget, this had simply intoxicating aromas. The body of the wine was elegant, yet masculine with a melange of spices and earth accompanying a smoked meat component. Brilliant finish. Has the chops to last a long time.

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  • 2001 Domaine Perrot-Minot Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

    I think Mike described this quite accurately as an acutely young Grand Cru. The nose was a bit monolithic with spiced red fruit and the palate had a somewhat vacant feel to it. Luckily, as it lay in the glass the spices began to deepen and the red fruit seemed to grow in intensity. Seemed to be an example of wine that needs a lot of air and/or a good deal more bottle age.

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  • 2001 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

    As is the case with most Roty wines, this is DARK and I'm afraid I would have pegged this as a Northern Rhone syrah if tasted blind. Had a distinct olive tapenade note on the nose with dark spices, grilled mushrooms and spiced meats on the palate. Overall, this had a very firmness to it that makes me think it's a relative adolescent and could gain in elegance with some time.

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Flight 5 - Other 2001 Burgundies (3 Notes)

Sadly, the Lambrays was the only winner of this flight, but it soared to incredible heights.

  • 2001 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

    This competed with the Bachelet as my favorite red of the evening. In a night full of masculine, dark wines, this stood as a far more feminine and elegant pinot. Characterized more by rich florals, sweet red fruit and a warm spiciness, this seemed the most accessible of the bunch. An elegant Lambrays that seems to be ascending toward its plateau.

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  • 2001 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin Flawed

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru

    A taste of this an hour before dinner had me concerned. There was noticeable VA on the finish, but I hoped that some air would soften that up a bit. While the VA stuck around, it was less noticeable.

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  • 2001 Chauvenet-Chopin Clos Vougeot Flawed

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

    corked

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Flight 6 - Desert Wines (3 Notes)

A nice selection of wines to end the evening. The Climens was amazing and I enjoyed my first ever wine from Canada!

  • 1985 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Mont 91 Points

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

    A brilliant wine. This had aromas of spiced apple, white florals, some lanolin and pear. The palate was incredibly elegant with a completely feminine profile of light florals, vanilla bean, fresh herbs. Most interestingly, this had incredible energy on the palate and didn't show much in the way of age to me. Wish I could have spent more time with this.

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  • 1988 Château Climens 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    What's not to love about this wine? Aromas of pear, honeycomb, fresh linen, apricot and almost a "d'Yquem-like" pineapple. The palate was incredibly fresh with tantalizing rich fruit, smokey minerals, and floral undertones. This was a hair better than the 1986 I had earlier this year.

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  • 2006 Royal DeMaria Pinot Blanc Icewine 91 Points

    Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula

    Thanks to Mike for bringing this rocking wine from Ontario! Nose was off-the-charts-dense! Mike's descriptor of "maple syrup" is dead on here...but the syrup is on top of warm apple pie. The palate is dense but surprisingly fresh with dark spices, more and more baked apples and pears for good measure. Nice way to end the night!

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Closing

Thanks to Mike for making the trip down to D.C. and to Randy and Maureen for engineering such a wonderful night!

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