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Knightsbridge Annual Holiday Burgundy Tasting and Sale
Northbrook, IL
Tasted December 2, 2012 by Burgundy Al with 1,108 views
Introduction
One of the my favorite wine tastings and events of the year. There is hardly a better place in the country to taste more newly released great bottles of Burgundy, and the prices are the best to be found. Notes are not organized in the sequence tasted, but rather by commune, which was the sequence of the list provided.
Flight 1 - The "Montrachets" (8 notes)
White
2010 Jean Noel Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets
93 points
Tasting, brief note. Perfumed start, very charming. Great orchard fruit on palate, impressive density and potential.
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White
2010 Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanée
Tasting, brief note. Starts with lots of ripe and slightly tropical fruit, actually showing an array from apple to peach to even more tropical. Well textured and mineral-driven through middle to finish, ending slightly leaner with robust green apple.
White
2008 Michel Colin-Deléger et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru En Remilly
86 points
Tasting, brief note. Lean, very tart apple. Best to drink young.
White
2010 Yves Boyer-Martenot Puligny-Montrachet Les Reuchaux
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Larger styled than most 2010s, rich fruit, big spice, slightly fat on finish.
White
2009 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières
91 points
Tasting, brief note. Ripe and rich peach and apple aromas, Similar flavors showcasing lush fruit but nicely balanced by good mineral and acid support. An elegantly stlyed 2009.
White
2009 Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Floral start with plenty of orchard fruit aromas. Also very "2009" in style with lush, fat fruit and good power, probably best in the next few years.
White
2009 Domaine Matrot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes
87 points
Tasting, brief note. Lush peach and apricot on nose and palate, showing less minerality and acidity, resulting in a charming wine to best drink young.
White
2006 Pierre Morey Bâtard-Montrachet
Tasting, brief note. Ultra ripe fruit aromas - peach and some mango. Big spice on both nose and palate. Great structural elements provide length and depth throughout, making me think this can age gracefully. Huge wine.
Flight 2 - Meursault (3 notes)
White
2010 Yves Boyer-Martenot Meursault Les Narvaux
88 points
Tasting, brief note. Lean and precise, classically styled. Good apple aromas and flavors, just a slightly tart finish.
White
2009 Yves Boyer-Martenot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
87 points
Tasting, brief note. Ripe and fat mostly peach. Very forward and fun, but not my preferred style Meursault 1er. An extreme 2009.
White
2010 Yves Boyer-Martenot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
92 points
Tasting, brief note. Very impressive. Spice driven aromatic start with ripe apple. Flavors of apple again and some apricot. Powerful and lots of structure providing length and finesse. This needs at least 5 years in the cellar to really show its full potential.
Flight 3 - Chablis and other white Burgundy (5 notes)
White
2010 Domaine Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Fat fruit to start, followed by good acidity, energy and minerality from middle forward. Well balanced overall, particularly for a wine at its level.
White
2010 Dureuil-Janthial Rully 1er Cru Le Meix Cadot Blanc
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Moderate apple and pear on nose and palate, but well balanced and energetic with good length. A producer to watch for.
White
2010 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Mostly apple aromas and flavors, lots of acid in forefront today. Good textures. Very similar to another bottle tasted at Bouchard this spring.
White
2010 Maison Albert Bichot Chablis Grand Cru Moutonne Domaine Long-Depaquit
93 points
Tasting, brief note. Very large scaled Chablis, this showed plenty of apple, pear and some apricot aromas and flavors. I don't know the oak treatment, but suspect there's some new oak coming through for now. Comes across as easy and pleasant today, but has so much substance and energy coming through from middle to finish, that this will continue to evolve and improve.
White
2010 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale Blanc
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Floral, perfumed start with lemon and lemon peel. Lemon and apple flavors. Firm finish.
Flight 4 - Volnay (4 notes)
Red
2010 Maison Champy Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds
Tasting, brief note. Red and black cherry aromas, slightly more black on palate. Slightly more firm and backward than I recall from when tasted at the Maison in the spring.
Red
2008 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay 1er Cru Santenots-Du-Milieu
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Big and fat red fruit with plenty of power. Firm tannins coming through today, give this some cellar time.
Red
2008 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos d'Audignac
87 points
Tasting, brief note. Good red fruit, slightly simple but also firm. Moderate intensity.
Red
2010 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d'Or
91 points
Tasting, brief note. Red and black cherry aromas and flavors. Modest spice that serves as good support. Great balance, moderate length. Similar to the bottles tasted at the Domaine this spring, just a little more red (vs. black) and more accessible.
Flight 5 - Pommard, Corton and Beaune (5 notes)
Red
2010 La Pousse d'Or Pommard 1er Cru Les Jarollières
Tasting, brief note. Comes across as classically Pommard with lots of firm black firm, slightly rustic in style, with some red fruit hints. Also lots of power and structure. Seemed more firm and rustic than when tasted at the Domaine in the spring.
Red
2007 Domaine du Château de Chorey (Germain) Beaune 1er Cru Vignes Franches Vieilles Vignes
90 points
Tasting, brief note. Subtle red and black cherry with floral hints. Forward and slightly rustic at the same time with a forest floor element in the background. Drink over the next few years.
Red
2010 Domaine Michel & Joanna Ecard Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Serpentières Vieilles Vignes
91 points
Tasting, brief note. Red cherry aromas. Red and black cherry on palate, very nicely textured, very energetic and nuanced. Impressive SLB.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot
90 points
Tasting, brief note. Red and black cherry aromas. More black cherry and blackberry on palate. Good balance. Close to its peak drinking window.
Red
2005 Domaine de Montille Corton-Clos du Roi
86 points
Tasting, brief note. A tough wine to enjoy. This didn't show 2005 richness and power, but had plenty of earth and forest floor in forefront, then lots of structure, followed by obscured fruit. I would hope this is in a dumb/dormant phase in its evolution, but am not optimistic.
Flight 6 - Nuits St. Georges (7 notes)
Red
2005 Daniel Bocquenet Nuits St. Georges Aux St. Julien
Tasting, brief note. Firm and tannic with black fruit...very NSG in character. Needs time to soften a little more, but this has lots of everything good.
Red
2009 Sylvain Cathiard Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers
92 points
Tasting, brief note. Consistent with prior tastings, this is ripe and lush with an enticing array of cherry aromas and flavors. Very good balance and forward, enjoyable fruit for such a young NSG. a bit of oak still protrudes. Fun to taste alongside the equally charming, more nuanced 2010 vintage.
Red
2010 Sylvain Cathiard Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers
92 points
Tasting, brief note. Forward red and black cherry with Vosne-styled spice aromas. More lean and black on palate vs. 2009 also just tasted, but slightly more classic, nuanced and structured.
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Red
2009 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale
90 points
Tasting, brief note. Fat black fruit aromas with sweet background spice. Again ripe on palate, but nicely balanced and elegant. Still needs a few more years to soften in the cellar, even though I doubt it will ever "shut down."
Red
2010 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale
91 points
Tasting, brief note. Fascinating contrast with the Marechale 2009 just tasted. This is slightly more lean, far more textured and nuanced, but less ripe and rounded. It was easy to predict who would enjoy each vintage more; my vote was for this 2010.
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Red
2010 Benjamin Leroux Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Perfumed start, followed by black fruit and an underlying earthiness. Somewhat simpler on the palate, but well textured with good spice in front of good black fruit. Interesting now, I'd expect this will evolve nicely.
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Red
2008 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers
90 points
Tasting, brief note. An unusually forward and developed 2008, this has plenty of black fruit aromas and flavors along with interesting leathery, earthy notes. Slightly firm, but I'd expect this to enter its peak drinking window on the young side for an 08 NSG.
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Flight 7 - Vosne Romanee, Echezeaux and Clos Vougeot (7 notes)
Red
2010 Domaine Bruno Clair Vosne-Romanée Les Champs Perdrix
Tasting, brief note. Starts with red and black cherry aromas with lots of Asian five spice, classically Vosne. Slightly more prominent black cherry on palate, slightly riper as well, also very pretty.
Red
2008 Domaine Perrot-Minot Vosne-Romanée Les Champs Perdrix Vieilles Vignes
88 points
Tasting, brief note. SO2 to start. Black cherry nose and palate with licorice, allspice and clove. Firm in middle, acid drives the finish.
Red
2010 Maison Champy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots
90 points
Tasting, brief note. Red fruit with charming spice aromas. Flavors balance red and black fruit, with equally good spice. Slightly firm structure in middle, then good long spice-driven finish.
Red
2008 Daniel Bocquenet Echezeaux
flawed
Tasting, brief note. Most likely an off bottle, slightly vegetal notes. I tasted the 2nd bottle as it was popped-and-poured, it was a bit backward and I didn't get back to revisit.
Red
2005 Jean-Claude Boisset Echezeaux
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Dense black fruit aromas, background spice. Better spice support on palate with lean black fruit. Firm in middle, fairly elegant all the way through. slightly better than I recall from the same tasting event last year.
Red
2010 Maison Champy Echezeaux
92 points
Tasting, brief note. Wonderful cross-section of cherry aromas with alluring spice. Similar on palate, lacy and elegant. Very impressive.
Red
2010 Olivier Bernstein Clos Vougeot
92 points
Tasting, brief note. Slightly reductive/backward aromatic start. More fat and ripe flavors with anise and clove, very alluring but slightly short.
Flight 8 - Chambolle Musigny (6 notes)
Red
2010 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambolle-Musigny Les Véroilles
90 points
Tasting, brief note. Aromas and flavors of red cherry and strawberry. lots of energy and textures. Impressive for its level.
Red
2010 Olivier Bernstein Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Lavrottes
Tasting, brief note. One of the tougher wines to assess today. Nice red fruit but I found the oak spice to be quite dominant and pronounced for right now. Great raw materials but at an awkward place today.
Red
2009 Patrice Rion Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Gruenchers
92 points
Tasting, brief note. Aromas of red cherry and strawberry with charming floral notes. Similar on palate with some baking spice hints, starts off as subtle, finishes with more energy and power. Very sneaky, exciting wine with lots of cellar potential.
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Red
2010 Olivier Bernstein Bonnes Mares
95 points
Tasting, brief note. slightly reductive to start. Aromas show a wide array of red, black and blue fruit with plenty of spice, lots of new oak influence coming through right now. Palate is equally complex with lots of powerful fruit, nicely framed by mineral, tannic and acidic support. Great concentration. Great spice.
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Red
2008 Domaine Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares
Tasting, brief note. Lots of SO2, then very soft fruit, unlike anything I recall from when last tasted. Probably an off bottle, I don't think I got a chance to try the 2nd bottle.
Red
2009 Domaine St. Martin Bonnes Mares
85 points
Tasting, brief note. Lots of sulfur to start. Very ripe and fat, making it easy to enjoy over the next 5 years, but not my favorite style and not showing much "Bonnes Mares" character to me.
Flight 9 - Morey St. Denis (5 notes)
Red
2010 Domaine Lignier-Michelot Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Faconnières
91 points
Tasting, brief note. Much like I recall from when tasted in burgundy this spring. Great floral start. Good balance of red and black cherry aromas and flavors, well textured, well balanced. Moderate length.
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Red
2005 Maison Champy Clos St. Denis
90 points
Tasting, brief note. Lots of black cherry aromas, then both black cherry and blackberry flavors. Touch of oak still stands out. Big fruit dominates over moderate spice. Firm. Good length.
Red
2009 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays
93 points
Tasting, brief note. This wine gets better each time I get to try it. Red and black cheery, ripe but not too fat. Great power and structure work together to provide a very finessed, elegant wine from start-to-finish.
Red
2010 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays
94 points
Tasting, brief note. Exciting aromatic start showing red cherry, spring flowers, fresh thyme and tarragon. Palate shows red and black cherry and some meaty character. Long, lean, incredibly textured and nuanced with lots of energy. A great Lambrays, a great value Grand Cru.
Red
2009 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart
94 points
Tasting, brief note. Black and red fruit on nose with plenty of baking spice. Similar on palate, well textured, very elegant for a 2009 with some power emerging on finish.
Flight 10 - Gevrey Chambertin (18 notes)
Red
2010 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
Tasting, brief note. Slightly floral hints support dense black fruit aromas. Plum and black cherry flavors with woodsy and fresh herb in support. Very firm finish. A villages level wine to hold for 5+ years before opening.
Red
2010 Olivier Bernstein Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champeaux
88 points
Tasting, brief note. Dense black fruit on nose and palate. Much more firm than the Cazetiers, making it much less fun and/or accessible.
Red
2010 Olivier Bernstein Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers
91 points
Tasting, brief note. Blackberry and black cherry on nose and palate. Firm tannins, good energy.
Red
2010 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers
91 points
Tasting, brief note. Forward black fruit aromas with modest spice. Classically styled on palate, lean and precise, with charming black fruit supported by elegant tannins and acidity. Needs a decade in the cellar, but very good potential.
Red
2010 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
93 points
Tasting, brief note. A step up on the (very good) Cazetiers, this has a slightly tasty, floral start with lots of black fruit aromas and some liqueur hints. Similar flavor profile, well textured and powerful on finish.
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Red
2007 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Tasting, brief note. Forward black fruit, simpler than this wine in most other vintages. Overall good, but not a personal favorite today.
Red
2008 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
92 points
Tasting, brief notes. Black fruit aromas with licorice and espresso. Blackberry and black cherry flavors, similarly spiced. Very lean and precise finish, this is a style of Burg for people who like Burgundy, not cali Pinot Noir.
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Red
2008 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Goulots Vieille Vigne
Tasting, brief note. Meaty and dense black fruit aromas. Earthy and dense again on palate, with firm tannins throughout.
Red
2005 Lucie & Auguste Lignier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes
91 points
Tasting, brief note. Enticing perfumed start with red and black cherry aromas. Large scaled fruit, well textured and balanced, with a fairly long finish. Needs plenty of time, but this has good upside potential.
Red
2010 Olivier Bernstein Charmes-Chambertin
91 points
Tasting, brief note. More prominent oak than on the other OBs, this has ripe, full black fruit with a dense, meaty character. Firm on finish.
Red
2008 Maison Champy Charmes-Chambertin
90 points
Tasting, brief note. Black fruit aromas with noticeable new oak spice. Moderate structure and length make me think this will be best younger (perhaps starting 2015).
Red
2006 Domaine Perrot-Minot Mazoyères-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
91 points
Tasting, brief notes. Ripe black fruit, lots of spice that didn't quite seem "Gevrey" in character but charming nonetheless. Slightly sweet, very ripe fruit again on palate, with good acidity helping provide length and finesse on finish.
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Red
2010 Maison Champy Mazis-Chambertin
Tasting, brief note. Fair amount of sulfur that didn't go away quickly so tough to assess. Very good underlying fruit.
Red
2007 Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
Tasting, brief note. Sturdy, accessible, probably entering its peak drinking window now. Slightly simple finish.
Red
2009 Domaine St. Martin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
89 points
Tasting, brief note. rounder, more complete than the Bonnes Mares. Still fat and forward, but that's very characteristic of 2009, but somewhat one-dimensional.
Red
2009 Domaine Alain Burguet Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
95 points
Tasting, brief note. Sensational. Fresh blackberry and boysenberry aromas with some sweet spice. Same rich and ripe black fruit flavors with great minerality incredibly long, balanced and persistent. Lots of silky tannins and acidity but both are already well integrated. My favorite wine today in an overall amazing lineup.
Red
2010 Olivier Bernstein Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
95 points
Tasting, brief note. Lush, power and then some more power balanced with elegance. Blackberry and blueberry aromas with espresso and summer flowers. Same long, persistent fruit on palate, incredibly alluring, with great structural components.
Red
2008 Pierre Damoy Chambertin
93 points
Tasting, brief note. Slightly reticent fruit to start, showing mostly blackberry and black cherry, some red cherry, plenty of spice and a bit of sauteed mushroom. Palate shows incredible concentration and very impressive balance, giving a regal, classic chambertin character.
Flight 11 - Other red Burgundy (2 notes)
Red
2010 Dureuil-Janthial Rully En Guesnes
Tasting, brief note. All black fruit, dense and firm. Also very meaty, coming across as rustic. Needs at least a few years to soften.
Red
2008 Domaine Denis Mortet Marsannay Les Longeroies
88 points
Tasting, brief note. All black fruit with some background spice aromas. Similar and dense flavors, firm and slightly rustic, I'd suggest this would have benefited considerably from more air.
Flight 12 - Something older to taste before going home (2 notes)
Red
2002 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
93 points
Another of these great Library release bottles. Mostly black fruit with some red cherry hints. Firm, powerful and long. Very well textured and energetic.
Red
1996 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes
85 points
Came across as slightly dirty and inelegant.