Berry Bros & Rudd - One Day Burgundy Wine School
Berry Bros, London
Tasted February 12, 2010 by chatters with 886 views
Introduction
A walk through the wines of Burgundy. One flight of whites, one of reds and then a sit down lunch. Hosted by Jasper Morris MW.
My late birthday present. Notes are not the best I've done as I'd just arrived from Sydney (24 hour flight) about an hour before hand.
Flight 1 - White Burgundy (6 notes)
all chardonnay (so no aligote), starting with Chablis and then moving up the quality and price brackets.
Lovely mouthfeel, grows in the mouth. Some tannin. a little acrid and bitter. Savoury rather than fruity. Not for me.
some tropical fruit, even a very subtle hint of lychee. Lovely tart apple with floral top notes of rose. Big mouth feel and some tiny tannin. not quite balanced so prob needs a bit more time.
'Green' fruit: apples and pears, crisp acidity but touched off with creamy hints. Never ending finish, just doesn't quit. Wonderful
Flight 2 - Red Burgundy (6 notes)
An introduction, for me, to some jolly expensive burgundy - not somewhere I've been before. The two Echezeaux where eye openers - the prices quoted were GBP 125 and GBP 350 respectively.
Tannic, savoury, not much fruit, shortish finish, smoky, rustic, bit rough, very young, not much finish.
tannin, some fruit, not much finish. nice enough but still a bit too young to be drinking yet.
Tannic, some acidity, long finish. This works for me despite being from a fairly dodgy vintage.
Dry, tannic, some light acidity, some fruit. Very balanced and quaff-able.
vanilla, tannin, light acidity, very nice, smooth, balanced wine. Reasonable finish with hints of violet. I really enjoyed this wine but it was a bit simplistic for the price.
Acid tannin, dry, red fruit, very savoury with, perhaps, a hint of porty rancio. Moreish. Not really sure if I like it or not. I do know I want to keep drinking it until I've made a decision, which could prove costly.
Flight 3 - Lunch (5 notes)
The first two (white) wines were matched with Ballotine of potted crayfish with salad mache and garlic croutons
The second pair of (red) wines were matched with braised cheek and tongue of beef, honey glazed carrots and caper dressing, horseradish potatoes
The final wine was served with cheese (Cheshire, Cheddar, Soumaintrain)
acid, fruit, burnt butter, hazelnuts, some subtle buttery malo, lovely, long finish. Incredible wine.
rubber, tannin, heat, not much finish. Hmm.
lovely ripe and unripe strawberry, tannin, wonderful, lovely drop. Very nice and, unfortunately, expensive at GBP 91 a bottle.
fully mature burgundy, it does taste incredible, all kinds of things going on but not really for me. If I went for supper and someone gave me this I'd be very happy but I wouldn't go and buy it myself (and not just because it's 189 GBP a bottle.
Closing
Somehow I managed to get through to the end - it was a bit crowded and there weren't enough spit buckets so I drank a little bit more than I would have done normally. Having said that it was a wonderful experience and a great present so big thanks to Mrs C.
My top wines were the two Meursault (the 81 was the wine of the day for me) and the Serafin Gevrey Chambertin.