White Burgundy tasting

TN's Sundays at Barry's 8: Raveneau, Roulot, d'Auvenay and more .....

The tribe gathered for the eighth rendition of our “Sundays at Barry’s” tasting. The central theme was to be Roumier & Raveneau, with various odds and ends thrown in for good measure. Fully trained chef/sommelier extraordinaire Adrian took care of various intermediary courses which were –as usual- of a high culinary standard.

• 2010 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet

  Not quite double-blind –it came from the greater region of Burgundy, of course– this popped & poured wine prepped our olfactory apparatus for the next level.
  Very pale straw at the core, with a watery rim. The medium intense nose immediately transports me to the Côte de Beaune, with notes of spiced pear, toast and peach, framed in luxurious vanillin oak. Even for a card-carrying oakaphobe such as myself, the wood influence was well balanced by lift-lending notes of lemon rind & white flowers and even retreated with extended aeration.
  Pronounced acidity makes this wines seem medium-bodied, its 13,5% alcohol notwithstanding. On the mid-palate a slight cretaceous mineral streak lends even more lift to make this wine pleasantly potable despite its obvious youth. Medium-intense flavours of creamy peach aren’t quite as delineated as they appear on the nose yet, but there is enough depth to this wine to balance a slight phenolic edge here and on the 15-20 second finish. I gave 88 points blind and guessed 2010 Côte de Beaune white, but could not further determine the village. It indeed turned out to be the Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 2010. It may well improve up to two points within the 3-5 year “critical term”........................... TN Mike de Lange.

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• 2009 François Raveneau Chablis 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis

  On our way to the main event, this highly acclaimed and relatively expensive village got 45 minutes of slow oxygenation. It is medium intense straw-coloured at the core, with a watery rim. The nose has the richness of the vintage, with medium intense notes of Conference pear and a mineral streak resembling quinine. More air unearths a hint of liquorice. This wine is medium bodied, but seems light as a feather and owes its effortless quality to very good balance. Medium-plus acidity keeps things fresh, but seems to virtually disappear otherwise thanks to wonderfully smooth texture; especially for a lowly village. Otherwise, it is still somewhat closed in the flavour department, but medium-minus intense flavours of fennel, liquorice and ripe-yet-reticent yellow fruits are not so diffuse as to be undeterminable. Still, the finish hangs on for an impressive 25-30 seconds and morphs the geological content to saline, which scrubs the palate. I’ll give 89 points for this impressive effort, which may be slightly a-typical Chablis but is a fairly typical 2009. This may just improve up to two points given sufficient cellar time and give the Dauvissat a run for its money........... TN Mike de Lange.

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• 2005 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  My contribution to this gathering and I was a bit worried about its evolution beforehand; not to mention the fact that my three previous bottles of 2005 were all corked! It was slow-oxed for about an hour. Its medium intense yellow core and bright hue immediately waylaid p’ox concerns. The nose is initially but medium intense and shows notes of toast and yellow fruits, but is somewhat closed otherwise.A medium-plus body precedes ditto acidity, which is well-buffered by impressively extracted mid-palate flavours of liquorice minerality, which turns saline –even chlorine– with time in the glass. Said oxygenation unveils already medium-plus intense fennel seed and lemon sherbet fruit flavours, but other than hinting at its none-too-shabby potential its overall demeanour still remains that of a closed down wine. It has to be noticed that this does create a certain tension. The 25-30 second finish adds some grilled nuts and slightly ups the intensity, while a mineral epilogue extends beyond the one minute mark. Summarizing; while not as nervously styled as usual this MdT has both the ripeness and tension which may see it broach the upper half of the nineties in about 3-5 years from now. For now, I’ll give 92 points.......... TN Mike de Lange.

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• 2000 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  75 minutes of slow oxygenation saw the 2000 brighten to a medium intense golden/yellow core, with interestingly enough a clear green highlight.The medium intense nose isn’t very vinous initially with hints of burnt milk, roasted meat and peat. There may have been reduction at play, because it all clears with time in the glass to reveal –still hearty– notes of dried mushroom, rich crème patisserie and ripe confected fruits. Also medium-plus bodied and quite concentrated, the extent to which its medium-plus acidity is buffered makes for a spherical mid-palate, which sports medium-plus intense and plushly textured lemon sherbet flavours over a palate-cleansing base of minerals over the aforementioned hearty backdrop. The finish is quite pretty, precise and balanced for 35-40 seconds and despite being quite evolved, the fact that 20 minutes in the glass improved overall precision and finesse prompts me to award 93 points. The small caveat here is that I think there isn’t much to gain from further cellaring and that less well-stored and/or more travelled bottles need drinking soon. Your mileage may vary, as it invariably does in this era of questionable longevity........... TN Mike de Lange.

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• 2007 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots 91 Points

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

  After an hour and a half of slow oxygenation, a lightly intense straw-coloured core with a clear green highlight can be seen. All the nose lets on is a lightly intense impression of oddly vegetal vine-ripened tomato, but reduction stings the corner of my eyes. Medium bodied at 12,8% alcohol, pronounced acidity is well-buffered even in this vintage. The mid-palate comes across as embryonic, with its cooling mentholated medium intense citrus flavours and pronounced mineral streak. Extended aeration unveils some ripeness, with hints of pear and some typical hazelnut flavours. The only slight detractor is a tiny phenolic edge -which I’m sure will integrate with time- but otherwise this wine has excellent line, great poise and refined texture. The finish kicks up the intensity a notch, with the mineral matter really coating the inside of the mouth in true Roulot fashion. It takes 35-40 seconds for the first integrated flavour to disappear, so I’ll give 91 points for this showing and I’d be very surprised if this wine doesn’t improve substantially over the next decade; to the amount of 2 to 3 points........ TN Mike de Lange.

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• 2006 Domaine d'Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Bourgogne-Aligoté Sous Chatelet 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne-Aligoté

  Warned by the nostril-searing SO2 content of earlier youngish bottles from this Domaine, our host gave this wine got 6 hours’ worth of slow oxygenation. Its core is medium intense straw coloured, fading to a watery rim. No more than lightly intense, even swirling doesn’t produce any sulphurous notes, but an impression of straw en rather ripe peachy fruit. While medium-bodied, its acidity is not a hair short of pronounced and so are its mid-palate flavours of grapefruit and lime, which are interwoven with vast mineral content. The finish manages to increase the intensity to an even higher level somehow and unfurls the minerality in its entirety, but tapers off after 20-25 seconds. It must be noted however, that aforementioned geological matter continues to score the palate after balance is lost for at least that long. I find this specimen hard to gauge correctly, so I’ll give 90 points, based on its intensity and structure. If it adds complexity and expression, improves its balance and otherwise defies the mediocre vintage, it may improve its score up to two points. If anyone can do that sort of thing, it would have to be Madame Leroy...... TN Mike de Lange.

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• 2000 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  A last minute addition by a late arriving compatriot, this was popped and poured. By contrast, this wine is medium-plus intense golden yellow at the core and fades to a watery rim. The nose displays medium-plus intense notes of butterscotch, candied citrus rind, marc de Bourgogne and browning apples. It is medium-plus bodied, but the medium-plus acidity sticks out somewhat because of the slightly inadequate mid-palate buffering. The barely medium intense flavours of bruised fruits, Oloroso Sherry and a hint of hazelnut cannot disguise the texture-spoiling phenolic edge, which causes an overall lack of charm. In short; this wine is past its best, which is further illustrated by its fraying 10-15 second finish. To attach a point value to this p’ox victim feels like flogging a dead horse, so if you feel you really have to I’ll leave that to your imagination...... TN Mike de Lange.

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Part 2: Roumier Clos de la Bussière vertical, Corton 1911 (!!), Bizot and Fourrier