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La Paulée de San Francisco 2012 Grand Tasting
The Westin St. Francis, San Francisco
Tasted February 25, 2012 by xwine with 864 views
Introduction
A nice follow-up to yesterday's Verticals Tasting, but more crowded. My cursory notes are in the order tasted. Ponsot was completely out by the time I got to his table, so unfortunately no notes for those wines -- damn!
Flight 1 (4 notes)
Jean-Philippe Fichet
White
2009 Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes
Incredibly expressive nose with nice minerality, floral; palate nice and round, straightforward but excellent quality for a Bourgogne; all Meursault fruit from vines abutting Charmes.
White
2009 Jean-Philippe Fichet Auxey-Duresses Blanc
Almost steely, light touch of wood(?), nice balance, apples, with the steely quality following up on the palate. Nice wine.
White
2009 Jean-Philippe Fichet Meursault
Very nice balanced (lost the rest of the notes, but an excellent wine, very pure).
White
2009 Jean-Philippe Fichet Meursault Les Chevalières
Showing more oak than the AOC Meursault (didn’t pick this up yesterday), but not obtrusive, terrific wine, first-rate, and again very pure.
Flight 2 (4 notes)
Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey
White
2010 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc
Loaded with white flowers, very aromatic, orchard fruit, palate is very taut, nervosité, crisp and clean. Very nice.
White
2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes
More oak, nose closed; palate showing oak, white fruit, luscious.
White
2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Lost the notes for this one, but like the rest of the Colin-Morey lineup this was very, very good.
White
2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Bâtard-Montrachet
Some reduction, nose difficult to evaluate; the palate is big, powerful, terrific presence, huge wine yet beautifully balanced. Loads of potential.
Flight 3 (4 notes)
Domaine des Comtes Lafon (and Héritiers)
White
2010 Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon Mâcon-Chardonnay Clos de la Crochette
Nice, simple, straightforward, delicious, lip-smacking.
White
2009 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre
Some matchstick on the nose, but good material underneath, some nutiness; terrific energy on the palate, very lively.
White
2009 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
Like the Clos de la Barre, some matchstick, but a bit less; no other notes, but it the palate was nice.
Red
2009 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay 1er Cru Santenots-Du-Milieu
Mix of spice and dark and red fruit on the nose, balanced, nice wine but somehow didn’t really move me.
Flight 4 (6 notes)
Domaine de Montille (and Château de Puligny-Montrachet, Deux Montille)
White
2009 Château de Puligny-Montrachet Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc
Light, good drinker, certainly not up to the Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin.
White
White
2009 Deux Montille Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Sous Frétille Blanc
Apples, not a lot going on, but nice enough.
White
2009 Deux Montille Meursault 1er Cru Bouchères
Decent Meursault; not up to the Fichet wines, but tasty enough.
Red
2007 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds
Incredible nose, spice, vibrant; palate showing some wood spice, terrific structure, long finish, very nice wine!
Red
2009 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds
Sweeter on the nose than the ’07, more concentration; palate likewise shows some sweetness, dark fruit. Excellent wine in a richer style.
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Flight 5 (2 notes)
Bonneau du Martray
White
2008 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
Wow, minerally, stony nose; palate is big, very firm, a lot of punch, lovely texture, imposing wine. First-rate.
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Comment
White
2009 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
Big presence on the palate, not as firm as the ’08, but certainly not soft. Still an excellent wine in its own right.
Flight 6 (4 notes)
Benjamin Leroux
White
2009 Benjamin Leroux Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Embazées
Lovely Chassagne, floral, delicate, good substance, nice.
White
2009 Benjamin Leroux Meursault 1er Cru Le Porusot
Lovely nose, nuttiness with the fruit, slight minerality, palate is fresh and clean, nice finish, good Meursault.
Red
2009 Benjamin Leroux Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans
Dark-fruited nose, some oak, palate fairly austere, oak mirrored from the nose.
Red
2009 Benjamin Leroux Clos St. Denis
Very expressive, lovely nose, nicely balanced, substantial palate, yet it seems to underperform for a Grand Cru.
Flight 7 (4 notes)
Domaine Michel Lafarge
White
2009 Domaine Michel Lafarge Beaune 1er Cru Les Aigrots Blanc
Pleasant wine, very nicely made, straightforward but absolutely delicious.
Red
2009 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Vendanges Sélectionnées
Very nice AOC Volnay, taut, nice fruit, not ’09 in character, “severe” but well done.
Red
2009 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans
A simply gorgeous nose, spice, elegant red fruit.
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Red
2009 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes
A “wow” wine, very tight and very young, so much material and so much elegance. Terrific.
Flight 8 (4 notes)
La Pousse d'Or
Red
2009 La Pousse d'Or Chambolle-Musigny
Pretty good Chambolle, not in a particularly elegant style, but still well made, just didn't ring my bell.
Red
2009 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets
Spicy, deep fruit, wood is not invisible; palate fairly oaky, and while nicely made, not my preferred style.
Red
2009 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d'Or
Very sizable, structured, tannic, bit harsh. Not my favorite.
Red
2009 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos des 60 Ouvrées
Best of the bunch in the Pousse d’Or lineup, spicy, balanced, tannins are more supple here, excellent wine.
Flight 9 (5 notes)
Faiveley (and Château du Moulin-a-Vent)
Red
Red
2009 Faiveley Beaune 1er Cru Clos de l'Ecu
Fresh red berries, very pleasant, simple and straightforward, finish is a bit clipped.
Red
2009 Faiveley Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Damodes
Earth and deep fruit, but something about it doesn’t ring true to NSG, nice enough finish, solid but not remarkable.
Red
2009 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin
Different league now, highly aromatic, complex, a lot of fruit, almost flowery; tight and young on the palate, complex, long finish.
Red
2009 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley
Intense nose of dark fruit, spice box, panoply of spices, big and rich but nicely balanced, a very nice wine, terrific finish, very long. Pretty stunning – maybe worthy of the hype?
Flight 10 (4 notes)
Domaine Henri Gouges
Red
2009 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Pruliers
Intense nose, firm structure, very nice wine.
Red
2009 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots
Bit firmer than the Pruliers, delicious, very good.
Red
2009 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets St. Georges
More reserved, both on the nose and palate, than the first two wines; a bit hard to evaluate today, but solid.
Red
2009 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains
Most complex of today’s wines, nice finish. Very good lineup.
Flight 11 (4 notes)
Domaine Méo-Camuzet (and Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs)
Red
2009 Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs Fixin 1er Cru Clos du Chapitre
Bright and pretty red fruit on the nose, palate shows very fresh red fruit.
Red
2009 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes
Elegant, nicely structured, a little oak showing.
Red
2009 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers
Very elegant for a NSG, also some oak poking through, but good wine.
Red
2009 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Corton-Perrières
Very deep nose, minerals, intense; palate is long and expressive, nicely textured but firm.
Flight 12 (4 notes)
Domaine Marc Roy
White
Red
2009 Domaine Marc Roy Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur
Very Gevrey, very similar to the lineup yesterday, just a riper version.
Red
2009 Domaine Marc Roy Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée Alexandrine
Perfumed, structured, floral, some meatiness.
Flight 13 (4 notes)
Domaine Fourrier
Red
2009 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Goulots Vieille Vigne
Very pure and elegant, lovely red-fruited Gevrey, nicely balanced.
Red
2009 Domaine Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Gruenchers Vieille Vigne
Beautiful, ethereal nose, loads of red fruit; terrific palate, beautifully balanced, though maybe a bit sweet, very good.
Red
2009 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne
Elegance and purity, but in a larger scale, a deeper pitched nose, fantastic mix of spices and red fruit, nicely textured. A “wow” wine.
Red
2009 Domaine Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin Vieille Vigne
Unbelievably great nose and palate, deep, a complete wine, elegance and grace with power. Wine of the day for me.
Closing
My wine of the day was Fourrier's Griotte-Chambertin. A number of very nice wines, often showing quite a bit of rich, sweet fruit, but frankly nicer than I had expected.