NYC
Tasted Saturday, December 5, 1998 by mdefreitas with 1,041 views
The Burgundy Wine Company, in NYC, held an all day tasting of Burgundies, comparing the 1995 and the 1996 vintages. Whites were tasted in the morning, reds in the afternoon. Non-blind pairs of the same wine ('95 and '96) were presented. Then the pairs were presented without knowing which vintage was which. Finally, single wines were poured, and we were asked to guess the vintage.
CONCLUSIONS ON WHITES:
I was amazed at how these two vintages really did have a "character" to them. The '95s tended to be darker in color and have more "honey" and oak flavors, but in some cases, the acidity was too soft. The '96s tended to be more citrus-like and minerally with wonderfull acidity... also, they were more closed but will definitly improve with cellar time. If you love crisp acicity in your white Burgundies (as I do), you really have to go to the '96s... Especially in Chablis (where the yields were lower than in '95 -- the reverse of typical Cote d' Or yields).
In general, it was pretty easy to detect the vintages when presented with a "side by side" comparison. Without a comparison wine, it was a bit more difficult (duh!). At the higher appelations, the wines could be so great as to make simple generalizations invalid.
CONCLUSIONS ON REDS:
The reds seemed to be more even in quality than the whites. It became very difficult to pick the vintage without a comparison wine. The one telling sign between the vintages was that the '96s were typically darker -- but not necessarily more intense in flavor. The '95s were perhaps a bit more riper, and the '96s had perhaps a bit more "pure", "focused" fruit. I know these are not concrete descriptors, but its the best I can do. The '95s also seemed like they would be ready sooner (lower acidity?).
1995 Comte Armand Auxey-Duresses Blanc 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Auxey-Duresses
Medium yellow color. Rich nose of honey, apple, and butter. Medium bodied, with a nice finish. Nicely balanced. My first wine from this appelation, but I like it.
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1996 Comte Armand Auxey-Duresses Blanc 86 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Auxey-Duresses
Light yellow color. Citrus, soils, minerals, and a slight hint of slate. More mineral than fruit. A bit shorter finish than the 1995 version. Very nice acidic backbone. This is one for the cellar.
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1995 Franck Grux Meursault Les Meix Chavaux 84 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Medium yellow in color. Shy nose. A bit of musky vanilla and oak. Soft and a bit flabby. Practically no structure. Too much oak... almost cognac-like in flavor.
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1996 Franck Grux Meursault Les Meix Chavaux 86 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Light yellow in color. A bit grassy and minerally on the nose. Nice acidity, but a short finish. Better balance than the 1995 version.
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1995 Domaine Bernard Morey et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 86 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
Shy nose. Vanilla and butter. Lavishly oaked. Lengthy finish. Big and ripe. A bit lumbering at first, but it seemed to come into balance with some airing.
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1996 Domaine Bernard Morey et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 87 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
Lemons, citrus, and herbs wrapped in a nice, medium bodied wine. A lot less oak than the 1995 version. Nicely balanced, if a bit simple.
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1995 Michel Colin-Deléger et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Big floral and mineral nose. Huge, extracted, leesy, yet finely balanced. Wonderful finish. THIS is White Burgundy!
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1996 Michel Colin-Deléger et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Thick leesy wine. Butterscotch, minerals, and vanilla. Very good acidity. Nice wine.
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1995 J. Moreau & Fils Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 86 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Shy nose. Honey, minerals, but a bit soft. Nice finish, but nothing spectacular.
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1996 J. Moreau & Fils Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Very nice nose. Much more concentrated than the 1995 version. Grassy, minerally, herby, and slatey. Nice minerally finish. Great lip-smacking acidity. Very nice, and an excellent example of Chablis.
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