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Chicago Wine Flock..."Various Expressions of Pinot Noir"
My home - Chicago IL
Tasted January 6, 2014 by Burgundy Al with 581 views
Introduction
I hosted and provided wine for the Chicago Wine Flock. Theme was the various expressions of Pinot Noir around the world in three flights, with 2 of the 3 naturally being verticals from Burgundy.
Flight 1 - Blind Whites to Start (2 notes)
White
2009 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain
91 points
Ripe and stone lush fruit aromas and flavors that start off as very forward and chewy, but then transitions to a leaner, minerally middle and finish. Good now, better in another year or two.
White
2010 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard
90 points
Lemon and lemon peel aromas with nice spice components of licorice and allspice. Same flavor profile on palate with a bit of apple. Good acidity and balance through moderately long finish. Served blind to the tasting group, I thought I could convince more people this leaner styled wine was from Burgundy, but most people correctly identified this as New World.
Flight 2 - Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard Vertical (6 notes)
Red
2000 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard
89 points
Tasted blind in vertical. Purchased from WS at release. All red fruit with good spice and coffee hints, moderate signs of evolution. Much less density or power than I recall from when tasted 5+ years ago.
Red
2001 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard
Served blind in vertical. Purchased from WS at release. Black and red fruit, but somewhere between mature and stewy. I'd consider this around "86 points" tonight, but perhaps an off bottle?
Red
2004 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard
92 points
Tasted blind in vertical. Purchased from WS at release. Enticing red berry and cherry aromas with very charming baking spice. Similar on palate with hints of sweetness, good concentration and persistence. My favorite of the flight. group's favorite as well.
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Red
2005 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard
91 points
Tasted blind in vertical. Purchased from WS at release. Red and black and blue fruit, ok spice. Slightly larger scaled vs the 2004, just ever-so-slightly less elegant.
Red
2007 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard
88 points
Tasted blind in vertical. Ripe red cherry aromas with some Asian Spice character. a bit too fat and almost sweet on palate with good power but not great balance. Group's 3rd favorite of the flight, I didn't like it as much.
Red
1998 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard
90 points
Tasted blind in vertical. Bottle, cork in great condition. Mature red fruit aromas with an intense woodsy spice and starting to show interesting forest floor character. At a very pleasurable place right now, this was my 3rd favorite of the flight, but the group didn't like its evolved character as much as I did tonight.
Flight 3 - Domaine Anne Gros Vosne-Romanée Les Barreaux Vertical (5 notes)
Red
2002 Domaine Anne Gros Vosne-Romanée Les Barreaux
91 points
Tasting blind in vertical. Wonderful red fruit with modest spice, but a little new oak seems to protrude. Just starting to evolve, this is at a good place now but I expect will be more interesting in another 5 years.
Red
2009 Domaine Anne Gros Vosne-Romanée Les Barreaux
92 points
Tasted blind in vertical. Lots of powerful black and red fruit with great spice. Fresh and ripe with a juicy character that fooled most tasters into thinking this was New world, but the finish was classically Burgundian with lots of minerality and textures. Very good now, better in a few more years.
Red
2008 Domaine Anne Gros Vosne-Romanée Les Barreaux
90 points
Tasted blind in vertical. I don't think I've tried this since tasting at the domaine in 2010. Very pleasurable red and blue fruit with modest spice. Slightly simpler right now than other vintages in the flight. Better in a few more years.
Red
2007 Domaine Anne Gros Vosne-Romanée Les Barreaux
90 points
Tasting blind in vertical. Forward and very charming, lots of fresh and ripe red fruit aromas. Great red cherry, strawberry flavors. Modest spice, modest complexity. Best now through 2020.
Red
2006 Domaine Anne Gros Vosne-Romanée Les Barreaux
90 points
Tasted blind in vertical. Powerful and dense red fruit, clearly very ripe but also well balanced. Some mature hints are starting to come through, which will give this wine more elegance and charm. But it's not a long-term cellar hold given moderate acidity.
Flight 4 - Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Vertical (5 notes)
Red
1998 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
93 points
Tasted in vertical. Open 2+ hours before serving. Lots of concentrated black cherry, blackberry aromas with hints of emerging earthy elements on nose and palate. Slightly fresher than another recent bottle, this was classically Gevrey with meaty spice and structure throughout. Group's favorite wine of the flight, I slightly preferred the 2002.
Red
2001 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
91 points
Tasted in vertical. Open 2+ hours before serving. Fresh black fruit with modest spice. Black fruit flavors again with a lean 2001 character to start, more power and dimensionality on finish.
Red
2002 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
94 points
Served in vertical. Open 2+ hours before serving. Large scaled black fruit with lots of spice. Great power and concentration apparent from first sniff. Still slightly backward, this is just starting to evolve. Long, powerful. My wine of the flight/night, group's 2nd favorite of the flight, behind the 1998.
Red
2004 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
89 points
Served in vertical. Popped and poured. I was interested in seeing how this showed vs other vintages. Very similar, just leaner black fruit, more modest spice and less overall intensity. That unfortunate 2004 green taint wasn't front-and-center, but all tasters found this an outlier/ under-performer in the flight.
Flight 5 - Bonus and Dessert Wines and More Bonus Wines (6 notes)
White - Sparkling
1998 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon
91 points
Good balance of apple, pear and lemon with toasted brioche. Very nicely balanced, with moderate length and intensity.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1988 Oremus Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos
90 points
Honey roasted nuts with some apple and apricot aromas and flavors. Very forward and fun, less depth and concentration than I might expect from 5 Puttonyos.
Red - Fortified
1970 Graham Porto Vintage
94 points
Popped, decanted and poured. Lots of fig and date with rich dried cherry. Very long, balanced and elegant. Seemed much better than another bottle from a few months ago.
White
2010 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet
flawed
From 375 ml. Showing definite signs of early oxidation. This is the 3rd I've opened and the others have been fine.
White
2010 Garnier et Fils Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu
89 points
Ripe apple aromas with a hint of peach. Similar flavors with an interesting saline, mineral note from middle to end, A bit richer and fatter than I normally expect from Chablis 1er, particularly in a classic vintage such as 2010.