Wines with Chris Larson

This was an impromptu meeting at my house. Desiree had a party to go to, and 2/3 of my kids are at camp so I had Chris out to share some wine. We started at about 6:30 with the Girardin on the deck. It was a cool night and was pretty windy, but we mainly persisted outside. After the Girardin we moved through the two burgs and the Mon Aieul. At about 10:30 we were pretty much done when Desiree got home. We quickly set up a blind tasting the four wines for her. Chris and I were split between the Corton and the Mon Aieul for WOTN, and decided to let Desiree declare a winner. She loved the Girardin, but excluded it from WOTN contention because it's white. She also quickly dismissed the Mon Aieul as too bretty (she doesn't share my obsession for Mon Aieul). She then tasted back and forth between the two burgs before settling on the Lechéneaut NSG. Not a very satisfying conclusion, but it worked out OK.

• 2002 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes 94 Points

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

  This is a beautiful golden yellow color. The smell is a "dirty" yet elegant concoction of lemon, mineral, bright fruit, and toasted oak. In the mouth this just explodes with flavor -- concentrated fruit, lemon, honey, butterscotch, and mineral among others. It is approaching full-bodied yet soft and palate coating with quite a bit of acidity to keep it somewhat zingy. Great length. Really a nice wine. Drinking on the young side now, but should be awesome with additional bottle age.

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• 2002 Fernand Lécheneaut et Fils (Philippe et Vincent) Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Damodes 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges

  Dark ruby red color. An excellent, expressive nose with dark cherries, baking spice and a toasted/smokey aroma. Really interesting. The initial taste is a very strong dark fruit and mineral, but by mid-palate this has started to fade and it is really clipped at the finish. Well balanced, and really a nice wine, but would need to finish stronger to merit a higher score.

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• 2002 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Cuvée Docteur Peste Maison Louis Jadot 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Ruby red with some lightening at the rim. The nose is a bit reserved, but has an intriguing grilled meat component complimented by red fruit, rose petal, and a strong minerality. Great texture and palate-coating presence. Very smooth with plenty of concentrated red fruit. Seems well balanced although (after thinking about it some more) it struck me that the there is very little acidity for a Burg. The finish is very satisfying and plenty long. This is drinking nicely now, but should develop and improve for many more nears.

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• 1999 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Dark red with a deep blackish hue. The nose is big and expressive giving dark roasted fruit, mushroom, mineral, saddle leather, pepper, and coffee/expresso. Similar to the nose of the 2000, but less defined and a bit wild. On the palate this has a great weight and great fruit concentration. Some roasted fruit present. Still pretty tannic and rustic. Great long finish. This proved to be far better than I expected based on other tasting notes I have seen. This should develop for many, many years. Great wine.

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We each took the rest of the bottle that was our favorite and headed out to the fire pit to talk and finish the wine. The wind was gone and the fire felt great in the cool night air. About this time Desiree pointed out the Chris should probably not be driving and prepared our guest room. With the first four bottles gone I went and pulled a bonus bottle. The Leroy disappeared suprisingly quickly -- I think Desiree only got the one glass before it was gone. I then grabbed the Vieux Donjon to finish up. The party ended a little after 1:00am with six bottles down. Needless to say I was moving pretty slowly the next day.

• 2004 Domaine Leroy Bourgogne 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  Notes from memory. Popped and poured. Consumed outside while sitting around the fire, but still looked cloudy. The nose was awesome and wide open giving a classic combination of sour cherries, earthy, and mushroom. Somewhat funky but still more of a fresh, upbeat smell. The taste was well balanced and palate coating blend of red fruit and funk. The weight was perfect for the wine -- just barely medium weight. The finish was excellent with decent length. Really awesome stuff. Glad I've got a few more.

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• 1995 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Notes from memory. Popped and poured. Consumed outside while sitting around the fire, but looked to be a dark ruby red. The nose was expressive giving dark fruit, dried herbs, and pepper. While the nose was good, the texture on the palate was exceptional. I thought 1985 Margaux -- it was that voluptuous and silky. This is packed with dark fruit and mineral flavors, is perfectly balaned, and has a long satisfying finish. Tannins seem to be fully resolved. This bottle was in a perfect drinking place, but I would expect it to hold for many years.

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The Vieux Donjon tasted so good. My judgement was a bit impaired, but it just seemed so perfect to me. This is one of the first bottles I bought when I started collecting about 10 years ago. I don't remember how many I bought, but I drank all but this one within a few years of release. The early bottles were not good at all. I remember being very disappointed and wondering how such bad wine could be so well reviewed. This bottle was awesome. My 1995 Clos des Papes had a similar history. I didn't like it on release but have loved recent bottles (I even bought more). Now I need to source some more 95 Vieux Donjon.