Laundry list

A short post to talk about a few wines, tasted double blind, just before our white Burgundy tasting.




2004 Domaine de Montbourgeau L'Etoile (Jura): Very well made and balanced Etoile. Mostly Chardonnay with a little dash of Savagnin.
Unmistakably Jura, elegant oxidation, some light curry and spicy notes with yellow apple. Nice even though this is a little simple.

2009 Michel Delhommeau Muscadet, Cuvée St. Vincent
Spicy mineral pear with citrus. Hint of orange and some exotic fruit. A touch of yeast. With air, the minerality fades and the exotic fruits become more apparent. Floral as well.
It's enjoyable but definitely ripe, especially for Muscadet.
None of the blind tasters recognised muscadet and some even went to Languedoc or CdP.....



2005 Domaine Anne Gros Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Cuvée Marine: Upon opening, nose was all lemon butter milk. More energy on the palate with again lots of lemon. Round, showing a little bit of heat (although only 12.5%) and nutmeg.
The finish is a little flat.

1999 Fred Magnien, Chassagne Montrachet Les Morgeots (Rouge): well this is definitely ripe. The oak is still lingering, not totally integrated yet. It is definitely Burgundy but quite modern and I'm not a big fan of this ripeness and texture.

2008 Vincent Prunier Bourgogne rouge: Light cherry core. There's a caramel, nutty tone on the nose. Nice floral notes and red currant. Round with med- acidity. It's a little sweet on the palate with ripe strawberry. My guess was Oregon pinot. It's ok but a little overdone for my taste. People liked it much better than I did. Surely well made.


2000 Edmond Duclaux Côte-Rôtie: Very tight on the 1st night showing absolutely no Northern Rhone character. Then on the 2nd day, the nose was great: plenty of olives and floral notes with bell pepper and ham. The palate is slightly stewed though and the wine lacks finesse. With a little more freshness, this would have been much more enjoyable.
2005 Damien Laureau Anjou Clos Frémur: Almost opaque and viscous in the glass. A lot of violets and cassis with a touch of bell pepper. There's also a beam of raspberry fruit in this dark mix. Firm tannins. This is a massive wine. Almost like a raspberry liquor on the palate wrapping licorice an charcoal. Ripe. I liked it much more the 1st time I tried it. This time, it was too powerful. A big steak would help here for sure. But I think I like his Savennieres (which are awesome) much more.

A battle in the heart of Burgundy: Puligny vs Meursault vs Chassagne

Cool temperatures and the very beginning of fall was perfect for our blind tasting of the night: the 3 most prestigious communes for whites in the Cote de Beaune: Puligny-Montrachet / Meursault / Chassagne Montrachet.

Driving from Beaune, you are going to hit Meursault first then Puligny to finish with Chassagne, the southernmost communes of the 3.

With the fear of having many oxidized bottles, we started the tasting (all blind).

1st Flight


2008 Chartron et Trébuchet Puligny-Montrachet
Very lemony with a hint of oak and minerality. Austere. It lacks energy on the palate.
Simple. Not bad but at $50, ouch !

2001 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Caillerets
More powerful than the previous wine. Nutty and smoky with a hint of mango. Round, spicy and apple. While well made and with decent complexity, it lacks depth.
Disappointing. And I thought it was a Chassagne...

2001 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les
Premox. What should have been a gem was showing signs of premox....and was pretty much undrinkable.

2nd Flight

2000 Domaine Rémi Jobard Meursault 1er Cru Le Poruzot
Some exotic fruit on the nose (pineapple), pear and citrus. Nice grillé. Palate is a little soft and almost lactic.
Not bad but quite straight forward. This specific bottle will not last very long.


2006 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Boudriotte
Grillé noble with a hint of minerality. Well balanced. This is quite Meursault like in character.
Round and orchard fruits. Powerful. The finish is not totally focused but this wine was my favorite of the tasting.
Nice.

1998 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Corked. 2nd flawed bottle of the night.




This rather small sample was interesting to taste even though there were, in my opinion, no really outstanding wines. The fact that the Ramonet and Boillot were flawed surely did not help.

Funny to see that the Fontaine-Gagnard wine was among the favorite of the night even though the Boudriotte terroir is more famous for the red Chassagne. Nevertheless this was a nice wine. I would love to do another round with more wines, especially Puligny which is my favorite of the 3.

Nice to see that all the wines were showing a sense of place and were definitely Burgundian.

Ladybug, ladybug...what ladybug?!

Ok, I guess you know what's coming....2004 Burgundy. Whenever there's something wrong in a 2004 Burgundy, it has to be the ladybug. It's vegetal? well it's because of the ladybug. It sucks? well it's again because of the ladybug..

There has been much discussions about the vegetal, green aspects a lot of 2004 Burgundies showed. I think this has influenced, maybe unconsciously, many people and whenever they were drinking, they were actually looking for a greenness in the wine. And if there was one, well it could not be because of a lack of ripeness or anything else. I have to admit that 99% of the 04 Burgs I had were all pretty good. Only average was a Voillot Volnay VV which decided to never open. So much for that ladybug.

Even talking to Clive about it, it seems like it was not really a big issue. Maybe it was US-centric as I also never really read anything about it in the French magazines.

Anyway, everybody is free to its own opinion of this topic and as long I can keep finding crazy deals of closed out Burgs, I could not care less.


So this week, I had a lovely 2004 Roumier Chambolle Musigny. This wine kept getting better over 4 days and showed a beautiful Chambolle character. Balanced, very floral with nice red fruits with a dash of darker fruit as well. Good acidity with the oak being more and more integrated every day. This will be really cool for the mid term drinking.

Maybe the ladybugs never found their way to Christophe's vineyards.... :-)

A night in Chambolle-Musigny

Haaaa Chambolle....Just the name gives me goose bumps. I imagine a lovely perfumy wine, light with finesse...a wine to drink with good friends and while chatting about everything and nothing.

On this beautiful evening in Chicago, finally able to have diner outside, we were all excited to taste blind a few Chambolle.
Squeezed between Morey-St-Denis and Vougeot, it has 2 Grand Crus: Bonnes Mares (shared with MSD) and the famous Le Musigny. The better 1er Cru is arguably Les Amoureuses.

Ok, let's start the Chambolle fest.

We went through 7 bottles and a good sign was that pretty much all of them were empty...

Part 1

2006 Digioa-Royer Chambolle: There's a bloody, iron touch on the nose completed with nice floral lift. Elegant red fruits both on the nose and palate. Tannic grip and well structured. It flows lightly on the palate while being nicely balanced. I thought this was 1er Cru quality. Very well done. This is drinking really well right now. I don't see it ageing 20 years but this will probably improve over the next 4-6 years. (13%)

2004 Domaine Drouhin, Oregon, Willamette Valley: A pirate in our tasting. Darker nose than the previous wine, quite a lot of licorice, almost like a zan candy. Blue fruits with a touch of grenadine. Palate shows again some blueberry and strawberry with still this licorice wrap. This is rather easy to drink and simple. This was not screaming Oregon but at the same time, it "made" sense once the bottle was revealed. But at $40, easy pass for me. (14.1%)

2004 Domaine Bertagna, Chambolle 1er Cru Les Plantes: a controversial wine. Half of the people thought this was corked. I did not think this was corked at all, even though there was definitely something a little off. Started like fish sauce, very shy and muted. Three hours later, it was a totally different wine showing some enjoyable red fruits, a hint of minerality but with an eggplant like aroma floating in the middle...This needs to be re tasted. (13.5%)

2004 Robert Groffier, Chambolle 1er Cru Les Hauts Doix: Man, what a stunning nose: floral (roses) and mineral, a touch stemmy, mix of red/dark fruit...wow...On the palate, the ripeness was a little too much and the wine tasted literally sweet. But 30mn later, the wine was balanced (still ripe) and the acidity came through and let a stream of dark fruits (dark cherry) shine. Some subtle licorice. Definitely 1er Cru quality here. Some of the group thought the oak was too much and while I'm usually overly sensitive and pissed by the oak, I thought it was smartly used and integrated. It's there for sure but this is a young wine. I think this Chambolle needs more years to be even more balanced but Groffier style is also part of the game here. We're in the modern camp of Chambolle but this will be a really good wine in the future. (13.5%)

Part 2

2006 Domaine Collotte Chambolle-Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes: Modest red fruits with a light touch of oak (coffee notes) on the nose. Not much going here. Tannic and heavy because of a lack of acidity. Hard to identify Chambolle. Ripe strawberry with hint of plums. Never heard of this producer based in Marsannay. (13%)

2001 Gislaine Barthod, Chambolle 1er Cru Les Fuées: Started with a little dusty, old basement nose. It then opened with interesting blood orange notes, red fruits and iodine. Hint of mushrooms brings earthy tones to the wine. You can sense power underneath this young wine. I found it to be a rather masculine Chambolle with somehow not so clean palate. Nevertheless this was really good. (13%)

2007 Domaine Ponsot Chambolle-Musigny Cuvée des Cigales: 43 years old vines. I have to admit this was not showing so well tonight as I found it very tight and close. Maybe a hint of bacon along elegant red fruits. Feminine, light on its feet, I'd like to re taste to better understand this wine. (12.5%)

This was overall a really nice interesting and good line up. I have not had many Chambolle before and I enjoyed the wines. You could see, with maybe one or two exceptions, that those wines definitely had a common profile: elegance, red fruits, floral. Of course, both the climats and the winemakers have an impact on the final wine but I'm happy to see a sense of place. Also interesting to see that the only non Burgundian wine is the only clocking over 14%.

Domaine de la Bongran- Jean Thévenet: It does not get any better in Clessé

Domaine de la Bongran consists of 15 hectares spread throughout the foot of the Quintaine hills in the Mâconnais. The name of the area "Bongran" originally comes from "bongrain" (a wine with good origins comes from a good grain).
In Quintaine, the terroir is composed of Oxonian marl and middle and superior Bathonian limestone which at one time was the good fortune of stone cutters for centuries.
The grapes are harvested manually when they are very ripe and, if possible, at the point where they have been affected by noble rot.
The over ripe grapes arrive at the domaine where they are slowly pressed in a pneumatic press. After the must has settled, the juice is transferred to stainless steel tanks or oak barrels where fermentation is initiated slowly with indigenous yeast, finishing 6 to 24 months later.
The wines are bottled before being tasted after ageing for at least several months and sometimes up to 20 years.

Jean Thévenet and his son Gautier are simply making outstanding Viré-Clessé, respecting the tradition of sometimes having a touch of residual sugar. Amazing texture, perfect balance and a capability of ageing for 20 years, nobody, in my opinion, is doing better wine in the area.

This leads to the 1995 Domaine de la Bongran, Cuvée EJ Thevenet Tradition. At the time, the official AOC was just Clessé and became Viré-Clessé in 2002.
Cool golden color. The nose is so inviting and complex: spiced honey, ginger, mango and obvious mineral notes. There is a little bit of residual sugar but this is balanced thanks to the high acidity. More lemon on the palate with a very long nutty finish.
This Clessé after 15 years is so fresh, this is really impressive.

A wine you could drink all day long....

A young Vosne ready to rock you

About 2 weeks ago we decided to open a 2004 Meo Camuzet Vosne, Les Chaumes for a dinner with friends.

Les Chaumes, a 1er Cru, is located at the foot of La Tâche and Les Malconsorts, in a slightly deeper clay soil. Vines were planted in the late 50s and 70s. With its classic eastward orientation and good supply of water, it is a fairly solar vineyard which cannot be considered as a late ripener.

According to Jean-Nicolas Meo, this climat shows well even young thanks to its finesse. There's no need to worry about finesse, and in this case, the vinification requires a little more extraction in order to push the wine to its limits. The cap will be broken up more often and the vatting temperatures will be a little higher.

I was super excited to try this Vosne as I'm a big fan of Meo's wines even though sometimes I wish they would lower the amount of wood.

The wine offers a stunning nose which is screaming Vosne. Tobacco, spice, red fruits, floral with the slightest touch of oak.
This was really drinking well, even though the last drops the next day (still don't know how we managed to save half a glass!) had shut down.
Very good ripeness, elegant and med+ acidity, it's pure silk on your palate and the finish is very impressive.
A beautiful Vosne which I think will improve over the next few years.

Interestingly enough, Jean-Nicolas adds that Les Chaumes gives you a pretty good idea of the vintage. I would agree completely here. Even though this 2004 vintage has been (ridiculously) criticized and hammered like hell in the US because of what idiots call 'mean greenies", all the 04 I had showed a nice balance and fruit. Is it the best vintage ever? Certainly not but again only idiots want the same wine year after year...

Don't read that post...or be ready to cry..!

Last weekend a friend brought a 1983 Domaine de Courcel Pommard Rugiens.
It was my 1st 1983 Burgundy and it was really interesting. From what I read, 1983 was really hot and difficult year, totally dismissed by american critics (what's new?).
This Rugiens was showing exactly like the vintage itself. Rich, sweet red fruits. Still alive even if the acidity is towards the low end. Rustic, a touch of iron and earthy but thanks to the sweet fruits and smooth tannins, this is a wine you could actually drink on itself, even after 27 years (I usually find old wines to be much better with food)! Of course, food completes the wine.


But actually what striked me the most was a little label in the back of the bottle. This tiny little red label with the price of this Rugiens...




Yes, $19.95....not even $20!

By the way, current 2007 release goes for $86....Go figure....

Francois Mikulski in Meursault

Since the very 1st bottle I've been a fan of Francois. The 2001 Genevrières we had was spectacular and the 1997 with Clive was also showing very well.


Francois Mikulski is located in Meursault (right on the RN74) and is producing pure, fresh, elegant and long wines. I had the pleasure to visit him last January and it was great to see all the nuances among the different terroirs.

I think that you can judge the quality of a producer by its level entry wines, meaning here Francois' Bourgogne blanc. I have to admit while we were drinking the 2005 Bourgogne, I was already ready to love the wine. Well, I did not have to force myself cause this was a beauty!

This 2005 was drinking like a baby Meursault (I think some declassified Meursault grapes are in the blend). The wine was balanced, showing a nice minerality with an elegant nuttiness along refreshing lemon notes. The finish is lively.

A 2001 Volnay Santenots is to follow very soon...

A dinner with a Master of Burgundy: Clive Coates

Clive was staying with us at home for 3 days in Chicago. I set up a dinner in his honor last Tuesday, even though it was a root day :)

Clive passed his Master of wine in 1971 and has been a wine merchant for a long time. The, as we all know, he wrote what is, in my opinion, The reference, the Bible of Burgundy: Côte D'Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy.


A revised edition, with a new section on Chablis has also been released: The wines of Burgundy.
Those 2 books are the only ones I need when I'm looking for any information on Burgundy.


We asked our friends who were joining the dinner to bring a bottle of Burgundy to share.

A few of the wines we had:

• 1990 Dom Perignon


• 1998 Pol Roger, Winston Churchill


• 1990 Clos de Tart


• 1998 Chambertin, Rousseau


• 1998 Chambertin Clos de Beze, Bruno Clair


• 1998 DRC Romanee St Vivant


• 2001 Confuron-Cotetidot, Gevrey Lavaux St Jacques


• 2001 Montrachet, M Coutoux


• 2002 Corton Charlemagne, Girardin


• 1996 Dugat Py, Petite Chapelle


• 1995 Chambolle Charmes, G Barthod


• 1999 Corton Renardes, M Delarche


• 1996 Chevalier Montrachet, Leflaive


• 2000 MSD, Dujac


• 1991 Gouges, NSG Vaucrains


• 2001 Chambolle, Mugnier


• 2003 Leroy, Savigny Les Ratausses


• 1997 Mikulski, Meursault Genevrieres


• 2006 Simmonet Febvre, Les Clos


• 2000 Corton Rognet, Ambroise


• 2003 Charmes Chambertin, N Potel


• 1985 Albert Morot, Beaune Bressandes


• 1988 Albert Morot, Beaune Bressandes


• 2007 Pernand Les Combottes, Rapet


• 2002 Chassagne Les Vergers, Jean-Marc Pillot


• 2007 Puligny Les Luzins, Marc Colin
  

It was a pleasure to drink with Clive and listen to his stories.

A great dinner with friends, bottles being passed around....exactly what wine is about.
Among Clive favorites, a pair of 1998s: Rousseau Chambertin and the Bruno Clair Clos de Beze and a wonderful and elegant 1990 Clos de Tart. Indeed, simply awesome wines!
But plenty of other wines showed very well, despite the root day: the 95 Barthod, the 2001 Confuron Cotetidot and a wonderful 1991 Gouges Vaucrains now at its peak.
2 big disapointments: a corked Dugat-Py and an unspiring Montrachet from Coutoux...oh well, even this was not enough to spoil a great evening!


The next day, Clive proposed to cook dinner for us. How can you say no to someone with culinary training?!!
A very good dover sole, enjoyed with Clive, my wife and 4 other friends. After the previous night fest and also to pair along our dinner, refreshing whites were in order.
We started with a perfect Michel Arnould Reserve Champagne.
Then we moved to a beautiful, balanced 2007 Clos des Briords VV Muscadet from Marc Ollivier. Mineral,refreshing. Very fine.

We quickly forgot a corked 2004 Raveneau MontMains (although I wonder why this has to happen with a Dugat-Py and Raveneau and not with an Argentinian malbec..). To replace it, we opened a great 1996 Chassagne Montrachet Les Champgains from Michel Niellon. At its peak now.
Also opened a 2002 Excelsior Clos du Poyet muscadet from Luneau-Papin. I have to admit that this wine did nothing for me.
A 2002 Deiss Engelgarten impressed me with its minerality and focus and a very good 2002 Dr. Bürklin Wolf Ruppertsberger Gaisböhl Riesling trocken.
Because no meal is complete without a red wine (not really but that's the only lame excuse I found), we opened a 1995 Dominique Laurent Volnay Caillerets with now the oak integrated and an absolutely wonderful 2004 Chambolle Musigny from Fourrier.

Beyond the wines which were very good, the company was even better. Really, what more can you ask than having good friends, good laughs when sharing good wine and food.
It was a delight to listen to Clive stories, parts of his life, Burgundian adventures...and much more!

A glimpse of 2007 in Burgundy

The following notes are not super detailed as I don't really like spending time writing a lot of notes during a trade tasting. I prefer talking to the winemakers.
Those are more impressions on the style, balance of the wines.

Blain -Gagnard
Classic, rich and round Chassagne.

2007 Blain-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot
Top soil is 100% clay on the Morgeot.
This Chassagne was more masculine than the Caillerets.
Round and rich, med acidity, earthy notes with a touch of mint. Lacks zip but nice.
Needs time.

2007 Blain-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets
More limestone on top soil with clay underneath.
More acidity and minerality than the Morgeot, nice lime notes.


Bruno Colin
Good wines and good values here.

2007 Bruno Colin Chassagne-Montrachet
25% new oak.
Serious Chassagne village. Round with good acidity, the oak is well integrated. Light hazelnut notes with lemon.
Nice finish.

2007 Bruno Colin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers
Limestone-clay soil.
The Vergers shows more Puligny character with usually more acidity and minerality than other Chassagne.
Very good Vergers here with lemon and citrus notes, wood spices and high acidity.
Needs time.


Philippe Colin
Good Chevalier.

2007 Philippe Colin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes
25% new oak.
Les Chenevottes lies next to Les Vergers with a soil which is more heavy in Chenevottes.
This is actually showing with a creamy and round texture.
Quite simple and a little boring (not enough acidity for me).

2007 Philippe Colin Chevalier-Montrachet
50% new oak, 50cm of terre rouge with limestone underneath.
The oak is already well integrated and the wine shows a beautiful elegance and depth. Mineral notes along lemon and pear.


Michel Niellon
Also tasted the Les Chaumees, Clos de la Truffiere (awesome)

2007 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain
More clay than limestone in this parcel which usually makes a more masculine and burly wine.
But here, Niellon's touch is evident with a great wine, focused, high acidity with obvious flint notes.
Very fine.


Ramonet
Typical....Ramonet ! A style on its own.

2007 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Boudriotte
Boudriotte is the last 1er Cru on the slope, next to the main road. Lots of clay.

A weird showing for this wine. Very creamy (althought batonnage is only made once a month), peach yogurt and flabby on the nose/palate.

2007 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers
More elegance and acidity than in the Boudriotte. Nice mineral and lemon notes.
A little simple now but simply needs time.

2007 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean
Very good. Bright cherry with earthy and leathery notes.
Balanced, good finish, drinking very well.
A wine to consume within 7-9 years.


Marquis d'Angerville
Impressive

2007 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru
Pure, bright red fruits on the nose and palate with beautiful floral notes. Elegant, focused with a good structure.
Very Volnay like.

2007 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Champans
Some iron in the soil and less rocks.
What a great wine.
Smoky, meaty nose with beautiful mineral and violets and cherry.
Perfect acidity, balance and structure.


Domaine de Courcel
Classic Pommard, very good but needs time.

2006 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots
A little more clay in this parcel.
Tannins are quite firm and abundant in this big, meaty but balanced Pommard. Very good fruit.
Needs serious time!


Pierre Gelin
Very good Fixin here.

2007 Domaine Pierre Gelin Fixin 1er Cru Clos Napoleon
Very good Fixin here.
Rustic, a touch of green but with bright red fruits underneath adn well structured and balanced.
Well done.


Christophe Roumier
Christophe was here and what a great, accessible person. Super interesting to talk to.

2007 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny
20% new oak here but this is impossible to tell.
Great texture with juicy red fruits and light mineral notes.
Needs time.

2007 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos de La Bussière
Clos de la Bussiere lies at the border of Chambolle.
A lot of ripe red fruits with a hint of raspberry. Easy and simple but the finish is actually very interesting with more complexity which makes me hopeful on this one.

Kyle and I with Christophe



This was a great occasion to try more 2007 Burgundy (with one 2006 in the mix).
I was already in love with the vintage and this only confirmed what my impressions. Super vintage in my opinion for the whites with a lot of acidity.
Easy and supple for the reds with bright fruits (a little less than 2008) and acidity.

Scotch Garglers Blind Tasting: Gevrey-Chambertin

Our tasting group, the Scotch Garglers (explanation to follow this spring/summer), gathered to taste blind some Gevrey Chambertin. No particular order meaning village, 1er and grand cru were all mixed up.
It was interesting to see if we were going to be able to recognize the village from the 1er and Grand Cru.








2001 Domaine Arlaud Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes Cuvée Unique Vieilles Vignes

Brickish rim. Beautiful elegant nose with floral and mineral notes. Nice red fruits.
On the palate, also nice and pure red fruits with some herbs, licorice and smoky notes. Refreshing minerality.
Great wine drinking very well right now.

2004 Domaine Fourrier Griottes-Chambertin Vieille Vigne

Showed much more dark fruits than the other wines from the line up along ripe strawberry. Round, more body. The wine is ripe but somehow shows some green tannins.
Got better with time but this will be interesting to see how it is going to evolve.

2005 Mongeard-Mugneret Gevrey-Chambertin

Boy what a great nose! Complex, cherry, red fruits with mushroom and earthy notes. Superb texture with quite a long finish.
Became a little less interesting withair as it became flabby. But this was a stunning wine upon opening.

1996 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée Vieilles Vignes

Very barnyardy, cheese rind nose but fruit hidden in the background. Drying finish with some metallic notes.
Recognized the Esmonin right away as I previously had it and, compared to the 97, it's always been a disappointment.

2003 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers

Strange peanut butter notes on the nose. Creamy, low acidity, grenadine and cherry. very forward with oak showing more with air.
A shock when it was revealed it was the Rousseau.
Even more stange that I tried it to make sure the bottle was ok before the tasting and it showed a purity and freshness that could not be found after.

2006 Drouhin-Laroze Gevrey-Chambertin

Bright fruits on the nose with some floral notes. Very tannic with an unpleasant drying finish.
Palate is less exhuberant than the nose and thin with a short, slightly green finish.
Overall I really did not like this wine.

2005 Louis Latour Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers

Shy nose not showing much at first. Red fruits and earthy notes. Not bad but undramatically drinkable.

2000 Domaine Pierre Gelin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

A Rather modern nose with some heat on the finish. Smoky oak but with an interesting earthiness and iodine notes.
Enjoyable.

Conclusion

My favorites were:

1- Arlaud Combottes
2- Mongeard Mugneret
3 - Fourrier Griottes
4 - Gelin Beze
5 - Rousseau Cazetiers
6- Latour Cazetiers
7 - Esmonin VV
8 - Drouhin Laroze


A great tasting overall with a lot of surprises.
-The 1st one was the very 1st wine itself! We all though this was a Grand Cru and I was not expecting to see that finesse with Arlaud.
-The Fourrier was a little disapointing, especially giving I usually enjoy his wines a lot.
-The Mongeard Mugneret was just stunning! I though it was the Rousseau (as the Rousseau was one of my wines and I tasted it before). Well not at all ! EVen if the wine did not show as well 3h after being opened, I say Bravo!
-Talking about the Rousseau, I wonder if someone changed the wine after I uncorked it! Unrecognizable, what happened? well I don't know, that's why I may have to drink another 4379 burgundies to try to start understanding those wines...!
-The Gelin, rather "modern", was interesting and enjoyable. I thought it was a Grand Cru because of the pure and long finish.

Overall, the straight village, well showed as such except for the Mongeard of course. Otherwise, pretty much everyone was spot on on the level of the wines..
Aren't we good? :-)