2004 Vintage Burgundy Tasting and Oxidation Check (Part 1)

Conducted in association with the Oxidised Burgs wiki site managed by Don Cornwell. We found only one poxed bottle of all samples tasted.

• 1997 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut

  France, Champagne

  Very fresh, herbal. Scents of freshly baked bread rather than brioche. With air, surprising red fruit character emerges, though this is blanc de blancs. Then the acid becomes more prominent and the palate impression harder, although nothing like the ’96. Moderately long and complex finish.

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Served with Hamachi, grapefruit marmalade, golden beets and avocado

• 2004 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Floral, stony, leesy and cool. Like other bottles I’ve recently opened, this needs another couple of years - true to the site and vintage, it is reluctant to unfold. After an hour, more richness is evident, but it remains a bit aloof. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

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• 2004 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Warmer profile than the other Chablis served, with more oak and less depth in evidence; those two points might be related. Typical Raveneau MdT and certainly good, but my least favorite of the flight. Other tasters seemed to get more out of it than I did.

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• 2004 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Valmur

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Plainly noble on the nose. Mute at first. Then mint, chlorophyll, “sun on stone,” with increasing fullness and juiciness over the hour I tried it. A late and correct note of chalk. Very good.

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Served with kale and red endive salad, cauliflower, Cremini and Pecorino

• 2004 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Brilliant, classical. Fuller and riper than other high-acid vintages of Leflaive Puligny (the ‘96s come to mind) but with great balance and poise. Very fine now and seems on track to be hauntingly good in just a couple of years.

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• 2004 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Initially fat, heavy, broad and unfocused compared to the other sound wines in this flight and, alongside the Fontaine-Gagnard (or, for that matter, many other Caillerets I’ve had recently from various producers and vintages), not especially typical. Improved balance, freshness and firmness with air, and would probably have seemed strong enough if not served next to the Leflaive and F-G. Curiously, I found this producer’s ’05 Caillerets (tasted 2/11) better and less ponderous than tonight’s ’04. I might give our sample the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t forget that J-M Pillot’s 2000 Caillerets, amazing in its youth, has been uniformly poxed to the gills for the last several years. Is this vintage also at risk?

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• 2004 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Now this is more like it with all of the gorgeous, airy, elegant, mineral-soil, white flower, and resin character typical of the site at its best. Showed at least as well as my last bottles of this wine (consumed 7/09 and 8/10), and perhaps still on the way up. I’ve recently enjoyed this producer’s ’05 and '07 versions as well, but the ’04 seems clearly better today.

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• 2004 Domaine Matrot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Dark complexion and showing early but unmistakable pox. Very disappointing - cf. my note from a sound bottle just two months ago.

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Served with seared diver scallops, roasted sunchokes and grilled Matsutake

• 2004 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

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

  Pure but complex; elegant with subtle power: Roulot at his best. This needs several years of bottle age, but the acid-fruit balance is perfect, and stony minerality drives through to a brilliant finish. Certainly the top wine of the flight.

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• 2004 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

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

  Stylistically very different from the Roulot; the extraction, oak regime, Lafon fat, and hazelnut/oxidative elements make it seem more advanced. But the acid of the vintage firms up the midpalate, so the overall effect is a pleasing “harmonic distortion.” Broader and more opulent, but better balanced and focused, than an ’04 Lafon Charmes I tried on 2/6/11.

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• 2004 Domaine Matrot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

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

  Considerably more open than my last sample a year ago. Correct and delicious, dominated by white flowers and minerals, with fine acid spine. But this is another instance in which a very good wine (and about half the price of the other Perrieres in the flight) seemed less sophisticated and even a little ungainly alongside its tablemates tonight. And as occurred with the J-M Pillot Caillerets, if were to judge by tonight’s showing, I’d say the ’05 version is better, even though I usually prefer ’04s.

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Served with pan roasted Chatham cod, brandade, cured black olives and Sopressato

• 2004 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Chevalières

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Boom! Coche-o-rama from the first sniff, with unmistakable flavor breadth, intensity and mouthfeel. Also very Chevalieres with its precise, high-toned combination of herbal, resin, fruit and stone components.

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• 2004 Domaine Antoine Jobard Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières

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

  Another surprise of the evening was how graceful and deep this became after an hour’s air, showing well in exalted company. Fine display of Genevrieres floral richness, in an elegant and serious package, if not as expressive as the others.

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• 2004 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes

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

  There was a lively debate about whether this was better than the Roulot Perrieres – I didn’t think so, because to me its extra ripeness detracts slightly from the focus shown by the Perrieres. But that’s nit-picking. The Charmes comes from older vines, as is apparent in the wine’s concentration, especially on the finish.

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Served with a cheese assortment

• 2004 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet

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

  Superb; typical profile of spearmint, citrus, white flowers, and a thick layer of liquid limestone. Enormous pent-up energy. Needs three to five more years.

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• 2004 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet

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

  Two different samples tasted - my bottle purchased from an LA retailer in 2008; another taster's bottle purchased more directly. The latter bottle was a close second to the Ramonet; mine was a little more advanced and thus more ready to drink, but perhaps won’t last as long. Both were tremendously impressive but, I think, not quite as promising as the Ramonet for the long haul.

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