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White Burgundy - Blind Tasting of 24+ wines from 1996 and 2000
Tasted January 29, 2006 by Ben Andersen with 1,104 views
Introduction
Eight of us gathered for a blind tasting of white Burgundy. Two of us were assigned the task of putting the tasting together, so we were tasting single blind (we knew the wines but not the order), and we were double blinded to a few ringers that were insterted. Everyone else was tasting blindly, knowing the general theme (white Burgs), but having no information in advance regarding the specific wines - or even vintages represented. Wines were revealed after each flight. All wines were bought on release.
Flight 1 - FLIGHT 1: 1996 (6 notes)
White
1996 J.M. Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon
Tasted single blind. Aromatically, fairly advanced - more than some in this flight. Nuts, honey and toffee on the palate. Great texture and width. Quite impressive, and clearly at its peak. This was in the running, along with the Chevalier-Montrachet from Ch. de Puligny, for the second favorite of the flight.
White
1996 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières
Tasted single blind. Strange aromatics - almost like an old Champagne - lime and toast. On the palate, it was thin and a bit sharp. Unbalanced. Not up to the level of other wines in this or successive flights. This could have been an off bottle.
White
1996 Château de Puligny-Montrachet Chevalier-Montrachet
Tasted single blind. Fresh, lively nose: lime, honey, caramel, almost tropical aromas. Slightly New World in its overall profile and feel. Nice weight, texture and balance on the palate. Seems younger than the other wines in this flight. This was in the running for the group's second favorite wine of the flight. This was an impressive showing, and better than the last bottle of this that I opened.
White
1996 J.M. Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
Tasted single blind. When first poured, the aromas just soared from the glass - honey, nuts and honeysuckle - but it seemed to lose something and gain a slight oxidative note as it aired. Broad, with nuts and honey. Rather lush mouthfeel, though, again, it does show minimal oxidative notes. Perhaps a little tired. Not showing as well as the Clavoillon from the same producer and vintage, also in this flight (see TN).
White
1996 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Meix Chavaux
Tasted single blind. Nose seemed slightly disjointed at first, but it opened up nicely in the glass, though it did possess trace notes of sulphur that seemed to come and go. Caramel, honey, faint citrus, and a wood note. A bit sharp on the palate, compared with several others in this flight. The group ranked this fifth in the flight.
White
1996 Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc
Tasted single blind. This was picked as the group's favorite wine of the flight, and it showed as well as any of the ten bottles of this I have opened over the last few years... Terrific aromatics - citrus, honey. Seems fresher than all but the Chevalier in this flight. An intriguing tea note on the nose. Highish acidity, though blanced in the mouth, with a honeyed texture. Very impressive, and a wine that surprised the group when it was revevaled.
Flight 2 - FLIGHT 2: More 1996s (6 notes)
White
1996 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ-Canet
Tasted single blind. Fairley tight nose compared with the rest of the wines in this flight. Pure and fresh, with nice minerality. In the mouth it's well-structured, with fresh acidity and minerals. Seems very young. Should live for many more years.
White
1996 Pierre Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Tasted single blind. Honey, a note of bay leaf, smoke and minerals. Assertive inthe mouth, with some evidence of oak, as well as more of what you would expect from the nose - minerals, smoke. Good structure, though still softer than the first wine in the flight (1996 Sauzet Puligny Champ Canet). Nice harmony on the finish.
White
1996 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
Tasted single blind. Fairly straight-forward nose, with fresh, vibrant fruit, and a faint underlying gauze element that seemed to come and go. More impressive on the palate than on the nose - well-framed, with earthy elements, oatmeal, some wood; fairly large-scaled, and still quite youthful. Very nice, but not in the running for wine of the flight...
White
1996 Domaine Matrot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Tasted single blind. Ever so slight sulphur on the nose. Golden raisins, yellow fruit. Clove, nutmeg, baked apple. Well-balanced. Everyone seemed to comment on the baking spice notes. Nice, but not at the top of the heap in this flight.
White
1996 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Tasted single blind. Okay, here's one of the great reasons to taste blind when possible - this was the unanimous wine of the flight and a real surprise for everyone. As Girardin's '96 Puligny Perrieres in the previous flight (see TN) was such a disappoinment, and I knew this wine (from the same producer and vintage) to be a very good wine, I inserted this into the line-up at the last minute (I had brought it as a back up bottle, fearing some oxidation problems with these '96s). I tasted this wine upon release and was quite impressed - ironically, looking back at my TNs from a Meursault-Perrieres tasting I arranged in April, 1999, I clearly preferred the 1996 Pierre Morey Meursault-Perrieres (also in this flight) over the Girardin... not the case almost seven years later! TN: Outrageous nose - dripping with honey, honeysuckle, and a faint truffle note - plus exotic aromas of mango and apricot. Huge structure. Just a massive wine, all-around. More seamless than the last wine in the flight (1996 Ambroise Corton-Charlemagne), which has a similar level of intesity (see TN). Absolutely in its prime right now. Again, I'm stunned.
White
1996 Maison Bertrand Ambroise Corton-Charlemagne
Tasted single blind. Intense nose of sweet, textbook Chardonnay fruit - yellow fruit, pear, apple, pineapple and honey notes. Everyone came to the conclusion that this was the quintessential "Chardonnay", but several folks commented that it could be a ringer from California. It was very fresh and vibrant, tasting years younger than it is, and with the potential to live for many more years, where well-stored. Regardless of stylistic preferences, nobody denied the quality of this delicious wine.
Flight 3 - FLIGHT 3: 2000 (6 notes)
White
2000 Domaine Matrot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Tasted single blind. For me, this was one of the wines of the flight. Light baked apple (not in an oxidized way), pear, faint honey, and a light floral note. Fresh on the palate, with lively acidity. Quite impressive.
White
2000 Jean Boillot & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières
Tasted single blind. Spice (cinnamon, anise), exotic fruits, and baked apple. Seemed less fresh than the other wines in this flight in the mouth - and it was a little darker in color. Trace oxidative notes. This was probably an off bottle, judging from the performance of Boillot's '00 Meursault-Perrieres in the next flight (see TN).
White
1999 Linden Chardonnay Hardscrabble
Tasted double blind. WOW. This has to be up there with the all-time great ringer performances I've witnessed... A $20-ish,1999 Chardonnay - from Virginia - inserted into a flight of 1er Cru white Burgundy, and it's picked by the group as one of the top two wines in the flight... Again, this shows the value of blind tasting. TN: Intense citrus (lime / lemon zest), yellow fruit, custard. In the mouth, fairly pronounced acidity up front, tailing to a nice finish. Bright, fresh and balanced. The group consensus: Puligny-Montrachet... Not surprisingly, we could not stop talking about this one for the rest of the evening. I need to go see this local vineyard and congratulate the winemaker.
White
2000 Jean Boillot & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère
Tasted single blind. Vanilla, yellow fruits. New oak quite evident. Somewhat less tropical than some others in this flight. The group decided this one is dominated by its oak, without all that much hiding underneath... Note: In the next flight, Boillot's '00 Meursault-Perrieres was fantastic (see TN).
White
2000 Yves Boyer-Martenot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Tasted single blind. Wood, vanilla, a bit of spice, and a touch of smoke. Less generous fruit than some others in this flight. Perhaps an ever so slight oxidative note. Nice wine, though clearly not made in a showy style.
White
2000 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet
Tasted single blind. Sweet fruit - pineapple, vanilla, lime. At first it seemed a bit disjointed on the palate, but it came together with some air exposure. A little one-dimensional. Slightly sweet. Honeyed texture. Rather showy. Nice wine.
Flight 4 - FLIGHT 4: More 2000s (6 notes)
White
2000 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts
Tasted single blind. Aromas of raisin - nut bread. A bit thinner than the other wines inthis flight. Did not seem as fresh and clean as a previous bottle, drunk almost two years ago. This would probably have shown better in the previous flight... Interestingly, very different stylistically than Carillon's '00 Champ Canet (see TN), in the previous flight.
White
2000 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes
Tasted single blind. Intense stuff. More polished and refined than the next wine in the flight, which is also excellent (2000 H. Boillot Meursault-Perrieres). Yellow fruit, honey. Gorgeous texture, balance, weight and finish. Hard to pick a winner in this flight between this, the '00 Boillot M-Perrieres and the '00 Boyer-Martenot Puligny Caillerets (see TNs).
White
2000 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Tasted single blind. Huge nose of yellow fruits - pineapple, pear, honey. Certainly not shy - almost electric. Seamless and balanced, despite it's size. Fantastic wine. The group's wine of the flight. Note: I was amazed by how much more impressive this wine was, compared with Boillot's '00 Puligny Clos Mouchere and Meursault-Genevrieres (See TNs) in the previous flight.
White
2000 Yves Boyer-Martenot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret
Tasted single blind. This was probably my personal favorite wine in the flight, though it was hard to pick a winner between wines 2, 3 and 4 ('00 Sauzet Puligny Combettes, and H. Boillot Meursault-Perrieres). For me, this wine showed an intriguing floral component that kept bringing my nose back to this glass. Gorgeous,pure pear fruit. Quite elegant. Rather thick, and concentrated, but it still really tip-toes. Quite a wine. This has a nice future ahead of it, I'd say...
White
1996 Domaine Rémi Jobard Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières
Tasted single blind. Inserted into this flight as a replacement for a bad bottle. Clearly, the group noticed this more mature wine as a bit out of place in this flight of youthful white Burgs... Honey, baked apple. Faint oxidative notes (though not oxidized, like a previous bottle). Thick, honeyed. Nice texture. Again, I think this would have shown better if it were in an early flight of '96s. Proably not one to hold on to much longer...
White
2000 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes
Tasted single blind. Slight oxidative notes, with lime and baked apple. Though still enjoyable, it did not stand out in this flight...
Closing
I was pleasantly surprised by a few of the wines in the line-up (esp. Linden Chardonnay, Drouhin Clos des Mouches, and Girardin Meursault-Perrieres). Others performed predictably well (esp. Boyer-Martenot Puligny Caillerets, Sauzet Combettes, Boillot Meursault-Perrieres, Ambroise Corton-Charlemagne). I was surprised by how difficult it was to guess which wines were which - even knowing what was in the flight. In addition, it proved rather difficult to guess even the village (Puligny and Meursault made up the majority of the wines). Yes, indeed, blind tasting is both a humbling and instructive experience.