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Courcel/ Chanson Tasting with Gilles de Courcel
Chevalier Fine Wines - Chicago IL
Tasted April 18, 2015 by Burgundy Al with 813 views
Introduction
Gilles de Courcel was in Chicago and we had the opportunity to taste the wines from his family domaine as well as Bollinger's Chanson property that he also manages. Younger wines are from the distributor, while Kevin provided some of the mid-aged bottles and I brought a few older bottles from my cellar to help provide some better long-term context.
Flight 1 - Guided Tasting of White Burgundy (2 notes)
White
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc
Tasting, brief note. Floral start with great orchard fruit purity. Vintage lushness with very good concentration. All apple, coming through ripe to start, nicely structured middle to end. Very good 90-91 point potential.
White
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Corton-Vergennes Blanc
90 points
Tasting, brief note. I don't recall ever previoulsy trying wine from Corton-Vergennes before, an east facing vineyard in Ladoix. Slightly less alluring or complex nose vs Clos des Mouches, but perhaps more/ better ripe, lush apple on palate. Big fruit flavors with good purity, supplemented with lots of intriguing textural elements providing a chewy mouth feel.
Flight 2 - Guided Tasted of Red Burgundy (8 notes)
Red
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches
Tasting, brief note. Wild strawberry on nose and palate. Slightly sweet start is nicely accessible today, firms up with increased weight towards finish. Good density. Good medium-term wine.
Red
2012 Domaine Chanson Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Fèves
Tasting, brief note. Tart cherry with good pepper and licorice. Today clearly dominated by sturdy structure. Requires lots of patience.
Red
2012 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Les Croix Noires
Tasting, brief note. Dark berries on nose and palate with a meaty character, fresh herb and ripe finish that works well with some rustic, ferrous hints and the firm, mouthcoating textures I most often associate with Pommard.
Red
2012 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots
Tasting, brief note. Massive black berries with some liqueur hints and big spice. There is a lot of flavor here, but today well behind the wine's firm, muscular structure that dominates. This will need at least another decade in the cellar.
Red
2009 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens
94 points
Tasting, brief note. Red and black cherry, very lush and ripe with great spice throughout. Very fun and accessible, but with serious structure just slightly in the background. Great now, better in 10 years, probably even better in 20. I brought a bottle of the 1990 to this tasting, and think this 2009 will end up as a similar wine.
4 people found this helpful
Comment
Red
2007 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Mature red fruit, leather, end-of-summer flowers. Forward fruit, subtle spice, not much nuance. I like this, but others liked it more today.
Red
1996 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens
Tasting, brief note. Tart red and black fruit aromas and flavors with ever-so-subtle spice. Moderately mature, mostly on the leaner side, with lots of structure that is fairly pronounced from the middle to end. Give this more time?
Red
1993 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots
86 points
Tasting, brief note. Mature red fruit with subtle spice. Lighter styled for the vintage, everything is in balance, but without the power or nuance I'd expect.
Flight 3 - Some Older Bottles from my Cellar (3 notes)
Red
1988 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots
90 points
Popped and poured mid-afternoon, served to the tasting group. Slightly musty to start, but that quickly dissipated. Mostly black fruit with subtle spice and a dense, weighty mouth feel I like in well made Pommard. Well structured, but in balance with fruit that is fresh enough I'd have thought it younger than an '88. Final glass poured 8 hours later, at which point there was more earth and mushroom, but still good flavor and balance. This was my final bottle, but well stored bottles will easily drink well another decade+.
Red
1990 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens
94 points
Open an hour before serving. Lush and powerful red and black cherry from start-to-finish with great density. Mouth coating textures complement the powerful and fresh fruit, all balanced by moderate structure. Very good now, but this will easily last another decade. I have one more bottle and plan to set it aside for at least 5 more years. General consensus this was the best wine of the day. i really enjoyed tasting this alongside the 2009 vintage, which I think might evolve in the direction of this great 1990.
Final glass was poured 12 hours after opening, and might have been the best taste from this bottle.
Final glass was poured 12 hours after opening, and might have been the best taste from this bottle.
3 people found this helpful
Comment
Red
2005 Chanson Père & Fils Clos Vougeot
92 points
Open and double decanted at 10 AM, then served around 2 PM. Spice-driven start with lots of dense black fruit aromas. Same fruit flavors came across as really backward. This would be benefited from hours in a decanter. The last glass was poured 12 hours after the bottle was opened and was by far the most accessible on the palate without any deterioration of overall freshness.
Flight 4 - Walk Around Tasting of Red Burgundy (5 notes)
Red
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Pinot Noir Le Bourgogne
85 points
Tasting, brief note. Bright red fruit, forward, fun and easy to enjoy. Simple, but a good wine at under $20.
Red
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Marsannay
86 points
Tasting, brief note. Dense and black fruit, large-scaled for its level. Slightly backward, with the firmness I would associate with Marsannay.
Red
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Gevrey-Chambertin
89 points
Tasting, brief note. Black fruit and roasted meat. Firm, while balanced. Entirely from Gevrey proper, entirely from the slope side of RN74. A very good Villages worth seeking out.
Red
2012 Domaine Chanson Beaune 1er Cru Bastion
87 points
Tasting, brief note. All red fruit in a slightly leaner style vs most of the other 2012s today. Good for medium-term enjoyment.
Red
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Vergelesses
88 points
Tasting, brief note. Ripe, black fruit with good concentration and some rugged edges that will need a few years in bottle to soften.
Flight 5 - Walk Around Tasting of White Burgundy (4 notes)
White
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Beaune 1er Cru Bastion Blanc
Tasting, brief note. Apple start-to-finish. Lush beginning, firms up middle to end with some rugged touches.
White
2013 Chanson Père & Fils Meursault
Tasting, brief note. Floral start, rich fruit on nose and palate with good power and length for its level.
White
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Puligny-Montrachet
Tasting, brief note. Lush and dense start, this will benefit from a year or two in the cellar to soften and integrate a little more.
White
2012 Chanson Père & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes
90 points
Tasting, brief note. Clear favorite of the "stand around" whites. Apple with some citrus zest and toasted pine nuts with good persistence.