France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
This had a moldy cork that I plunged right in with the ah-so, so I decanted the wine to minimize contact with the mold; from the decanter it smelled gutty and deep. Very pale ruby to begin with, now much faded and bricked. Initially, the nose was reticent and a little musty, for a minute even a little corky; with air a little tar and sweet rose peeked out. The palate was also thin and faded at first, tertiary forest floor, wan red fruit. It was nice enough with salmon, but I definitely suspected that this wine really needed time open. So we left for a concert (Glenn Campbell at Carnegie Hall!) for 3-1/2 hours, leaving the wine in the decanter in the wine fridge. Upon our return -- ah! Now we're talking! The nose is deep and complex, almost lush, full of mellow tar, strawberry, delicate tea-rose, gentle baking spices, petrichor - really quite magically appealing. As Sarah says: only aged Burgundy can smell like this... Just so. The palate is not quite up to the nose, but has plumped and sweetened right up from earlier tonight; cherry compote, a little dusty tea-leafiness, and an interesting herbal mintiness (unusual in Pinot). Soft, resolved tannins, gorgeously medium bodied, but then quite an extraordinarily long, soft farewell kiss. A little simple on palate overall, but there's nothing at all wrong with that! Thoroughly enjoyable. SLB must be a serious contender for one of Burgundy's, if not France's, most under-appreciated regions.
1978 Robert Ampeau & Fils Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavières
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
This had a moldy cork that I plunged right in with the ah-so, so I decanted the wine to minimize contact with the mold; from the decanter it smelled gutty and deep. Very pale ruby to begin with, now much faded and bricked. Initially, the nose was reticent and a little musty, for a minute even a little corky; with air a little tar and sweet rose peeked out. The palate was also thin and faded at first, tertiary forest floor, wan red fruit. It was nice enough with salmon, but I definitely suspected that this wine really needed time open. So we left for a concert (Glenn Campbell at Carnegie Hall!) for 3-1/2 hours, leaving the wine in the decanter in the wine fridge. Upon our return -- ah! Now we're talking! The nose is deep and complex, almost lush, full of mellow tar, strawberry, delicate tea-rose, gentle baking spices, petrichor - really quite magically appealing. As Sarah says: only aged Burgundy can smell like this... Just so. The palate is not quite up to the nose, but has plumped and sweetened right up from earlier tonight; cherry compote, a little dusty tea-leafiness, and an interesting herbal mintiness (unusual in Pinot). Soft, resolved tannins, gorgeously medium bodied, but then quite an extraordinarily long, soft farewell kiss. A little simple on palate overall, but there's nothing at all wrong with that! Thoroughly enjoyable. SLB must be a serious contender for one of Burgundy's, if not France's, most under-appreciated regions.
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