Champagne and Burgs #1
Tasted September 22, 2010 by Dave Dalluge with 774 views
Introduction
A small group of us decided to get together for some Champagne and Burgs. Craig Vanderah arrange an excellent five-course meal at Cafe Levain in Minneapolis. It was a Wednesday night and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Others in attendance were Steve Sigmond (Siggy), Chris Larson, Dave McMahon, and Lonny Isenberg. The food was reasonably good and the service was excellent.
Flight 1 - Champagne (2 notes)
Sadly only one champagne (but it was pretty tasty) followed by a Chablis (these themes are so hard to follow).
White - Sparkling
2001 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Pale yellow color. Reserved nose offering a faint whiff of yeast/dough. Flavors of lemon/citrus really attack the palate creating a perceived depth of flavor that gives way to zingy acidity from mid-palate through the long, satisfying finish. And yet, as I continue to sip and reflect it becomes clear that whatever the source of that initial power, it is somehow masking an underlying thinness. My vote would be to drink these now and over the near term because the fruit/acidity combination is rocking right now and there's not enough underlying substance to expect improvement.
White
2007 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru Valmur
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Pale gold color. Great nose offering clean aromas of honey, butterscotch and mineral. Clean and crisp on the palate with flavors of apple and mineral. Good flavor intensity but not overly expansive. Great finish.
Flight 2 - Red Burgundy (6 notes)
All of these showed well except for the corked bottle. Unfortunately, none of them really reached any grand heights either. All were great with the food.
Red
2001 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Clos de la Roche
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
My fourth go at this wine (first since 3/08) and, while the best showing yet, this is still years from peak. Thin cherry red color with black hues. Youthful nose featuring sweet red fruit, mineral and oak. Compact cherry flavors coupled with a silky texture are most promising, but tannins come on strong by mid-palate and produce a drying finish. Enjoyable to drink now and showing much better than the last bottle, but should reach even greater heights in the future.
Red
2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
This was singing from the moment poured. Exuberant nose dominated by red fruit and spice. Even better on the palate with an elegant personality yet packed with flavor (cherry, mushroom, mineral and no obvious oak). Mid-weight and well balanced. Resolved tannin. Great length on the finish. While lacking a bit of complexity relative to its Grand Cru siblings, this is a beautiful wine to savor while waiting for those to develop.
Red
2002 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
Poured next to the '01 1er and almost the equal. Big nose with red fruit, spice and mineral but with a touch of brett-like funk. More compact on the palate but with plenty of red fruit, spice and a hint of oak. The finish is nice but with plenty of tannin still present. While the '01 1er seems like its been open since release, this struck me as needing more time to express itself fully.
Red
2002 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Dark blackish-red color. Awesome nose with dark fruit, baking spice, coffee and a subtle barnyard funk. On the palate this is packed with flavors of dark fruit and some oak. Flavors are a bit closed/compact on the palate, but what's there is delightful. Just enough structure/acidity to balance out the fruit and keep this feeling elegant. The finish is long and satisfying. These should be great with 3-5 more years in the cellar.
Red
2002 Domaine Jacques Prieur Clos Vougeot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Popped and poured. Dense blackish-red color. Reserved nose that gave up little despite lots of coaxing. On the palate this is a bruiser -- approaching full-bodied in weight but with closed/compact flavors expressiveness. Flavors are practically primary, dominated by dark fruit and hints of cola. Still extremely tannic. Great length on the finish. This wine is in need of many more years in the cellar, but even given that I'm not sure it will achieve greatness given the lack of elegance and complexity.
Flight 3 - The Pirate (1 note)
The same guy who brought the Chablis brought the Chateauneuf (these themes are so hard to follow). I wasn't even particularly interested in tasting it given all the great red Burgundy but gamely gave it a shot. It was so good I couldn't get it out of my head and opened a '98 Vieux Donjon later in the week just to relive the glory.
Red
2001 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Totally out of place in a Champagne/Burgs dinner. Audouzed a few hours before serving. Wow, was this rocking. The nose delivers a soaring expression of CdP with dark fruit, dried herbs, leather, black olives, licorice and garrigue. Almost liquor-like in its intensity and truly spectacular. The taste is equally compelling, offering a blend of liquor-like dark fruit, dried herbs, and licorice. The fruit is extremely concentrated yet the balance is perfect. This is still fairly tannic, but the finish is long and satisfying. I'm glad to have a bunch of these in the cellar. In time they may prove to be as great as the '98!
Closing
It's a sad night when a Chateauneuf is wine of the night at a "Champagne and Burg" tasting, but it's hard to see it any other way. This is the first of two "Champagne and Burgs" dinners on consecutive weeks. Hopefully we can step it up a bit with the Burgs during round #2.
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC.
