2007/2008 d'Angerville Tasting
L'Artusi Restaurant, West Village, Manhattan
Tasted Monday, May 21, 2012 by Seth Rosenberg with 876 views
Introduction
This tasting was the brainchild of myself and Matt N - after having some of the 07 and 08 d'Angerville wines at the d'Angerville tasting at Daniel, we wanted to try more. Add to that our interest in the 2007 Cotes de Beaune wines. The idea was to have the four major Volnay sites from d'Angerville: Champans, Caillerets, Taillepieds, and Clos des Ducs from both 2007 and 2008. We wanted to add a few 'ringers': the 2007 de Montille Taillepieds, and the 2007 Lafarge Clos du Chateau des Ducs. Matt double decanted and recorked the 2008's about 6 hours ahead, while I had the restaurant pour out half of each bottle and pour them back in - about 1.5 hours ahead.
The Lafarge was corked. Given that, the format would be semi-blind: four flights, one for each vineyard - the vineyard would be revealed after each flight. We were going to try to do the vintage within each flight blind, but it didn't work out: we had different-sized glasses inside each flight, and so we wanted the 08 in the bigger glass.
Flight 1 (2 Notes)
Flight 2 - Champans (2 Notes)
Tasted side by side, without knowing the vineyard. We each had one burg glass and one smaller one. We asked for the 08 to be put in the larger glass, and the 07 in the smaller. So those of us organizing that knew which vintage was which, while others did not.
Flight 3 - Caillerets (2 Notes)
Tasted side by side, without knowing the vineyard. We each had one burg glass and one smaller one. We asked for the 08 to be put in the larger glass, and the 07 in the smaller. So those of us organizing that knew which vintage was which, while others did not.
Flight 4 - Clos des Ducs (2 Notes)
By this point we each had two burg glasses, but we still knew the vintage.
Flight 5 - Taillepieds (3 Notes)
Here, by process of elimination, we knew the vineyard, so we tasted the wines blind, not knowing at all which was which.
Flight 6 - Dessert (3 Notes)
Closing
In the end, it was a very educational tasting. The 08's showed better than I thought they would at this point - very classy and elegant with great mouthfeel. They have great potential. The 07's didn't show as well as I had hoped - I was looking for soaring open noses and clear palates - I didn't get it. The 07 Taillepieds and Ducs showed very well but they weren't as ready as I thought they would be. I thought the 07's would be much more forward than the 08's, but they were not. It is possible that the 2007's were at an awkward point in the aeration.
I also learned a lot about the terroir of these great vineyards. In particular, the flavor profile of Champans is quite striking: crushed stones and cherry minerality. To me, the Ducs and Taillepieds seem more noble than the Champans and Caillierets, not that the latter two are shabby - it is just a question of degree. The Ducs clearly has a purity and structure above the others, but the flavor profile and complexity of the Taillepieds makes it my favorite. It's the most aromatic and perfumed. Overall, it was a very consistent and excellent set of wines - with great potential.
Finally a bit on the d'Angerville 'house style'. In my opinion, it is really something. Simple and pure, striking terroir and elegance. This is what I look for in Red Burgundy: balance, transparency, and precision. It's old-school wine making. I love de Montille's wines as well, but the de Montille Taillepieds stuck out like a sore thumb. It was tasty, but felt so much more modern (hard to believe - I guess many are saying that their house style has changed), and less ... something. The de Montille was pretty transparent and pure, in its way, but the d'Angerville wines have this combination of balance, elegance, and weight that is just hard to top. Bravo!
2010 Ceritas Chardonnay Heintz Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Brought by Alan. Pale yellow-green. Elegant, cool nos: herbal, green with minerals, a touch oak, caramel, white flowers. Nose had two personalities: the cool and refined one, and the darker and oaky one. Similar on palate - lemon, minerals, oak, a touch caramel-oak. The temp of the wine was a touch warm, so it was hard to get a good read on the mouthfeel, but here it goes. Body is solid, somewhat lean and focused well: lime,minerals, oak, butterscotch. Much better than 90% of Cali chards around. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15.5/20.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2007 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Corked - doh!
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No