WTN: Some Burgundy notes from last night

I was introduced by a mutual friend to another wine lover at my work who especially likes Burgundy. I finally got a hold of Charles, who told me he really prefers Volnay and Chambolle over the rest of Burgundy, but would be open minded and willing to try some other stuff too.

After a few weeks of planning we were finally able to get together with some new and old friends to try a few wines. We met at Du Jour Bistro, a very wine friendly restaurant in town. The duck confit and risotto was very tasty and was unbelievably good with the Bonnes Mares.

The 1999 Girardin Corton Charlemagne was a nice way to start out the night. Medium yellow not quite gold color, the wine had a great nose of honeyed apples and a pine note, and opened up a lot and became deeper over time. It had a nice silky texture and body without ever getting too weighty. There was a little toasty spicy oak that lessened with air, and a nice minerality that also developed as it opened. No signs of oxidation here. Very nice, thanks Warren.

The 2004 Dauvissat La Foret had a lot of ripe pear and hazelnut, and I thought a little matchstick sulfur. Not everyone agreed with the sulfur thing though. Crystalline texture and really elegant acidity also. This was enjoyable if very young.

The 2001 Bouchard Beaune Greves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus was light garnet in color, and had a very earthy, mushroom iodine nose. Bits of black cherry fruit played peek a boo here, but the dirt was the predominant feature. In the mouth the wine started out quite forceful but a big wave of tannin clamped down pretty quickly. I tried a little more from the leftovers tonight, and it was more open and giving. Overall I liked this a lot but it is way too young and shouldn't be opened for a while.

A 2002 Girardin Volnay Santenots made the rounds next. It was noticeably darker in color than the Bouchard. My impression was the wine was slightly corked, others thought it might have been cooked. Flawed and hard to judge.

The 2002 Pavelot Savigny Les Beaune had a straightforward ripe cherry nose and was a rustic, juicy and light bodied thing. Nice enough wine that I could drink everyday, but maybe a little lost with in the mix tonight. Drink or hold.

A new world ringer came next, the 1997 Calera Jensen Mt Harlan Pinot Noir , which I think is from Sonoma. It was a big, red fruited wine, but not really what I would call a total fruit bomb. Soft and generous mouth-feel, with more acidity than tannic structure. The nose became sweeter and jammier with air. Still for a '97 from CA, not a bad showing. Drink now.

A couple of Bonnes Mares were also opened. The 1998 Groffier Bonnes Mares was just delicious and was the consensus WOTN. A lovely mix of red and black fruits, earth, baking spices, but the mouth maybe was even better than the nose. Generous silky structure with great integration of the structural elements. Eye opening and a benchmark (for me anyway). Drink or hold. Thanks, Jenise.

Mike brought a 2000 Jadot Bonnes Mares which was interesting to try after the Groffier. The Jadot seemed much younger and very firm, almost angular after the Groffier. It had a good nose of red fruit, and a spicy earthy element. Much higher acidity than the '98 Gr. I think this is very good, but really needs more time. Hold. Thanks, Mike.

John had a bottle of 1992 Corton from Patriarche Pere et Fils that he had brought back a few years ago from a visit to Beaune. The storage here was questionable. The wine had a healthy color and initially had a forest floor nose that was enjoyable. With air it fell apart and went from black cherry to sweet prune fairly quickly. The first few sniffs were pretty good though.

A bottle of 2001 Fourrier Gevrey Chambertin VV really showed well right out of the bottle. Pure very expressive red currant fruit with some lifted menthol steely minerals, lovely balance and delicious. Mike, who owns a local wine shop had never tried Fourrier and it made a favorable impression. Charles told he thinks Fourrier is kind of New Worldish, but when I asked him why, his hypothesis was based on the 2003 wines, which makes sense. Anyway this gave a lot of pleasure tonight, drink or hold.

The last bottle was the 1999 La Pousse D'Or Volnay en Caillerets Clos des 60 Ouvrees This had some bottle funk that blew off to reveal a nice nose of high toned spices and dark fruits. There was a bass note of some cooked fruit also. Pretty firm in the mouth, the nose was the highlight and just guessing but I would think this will be much better with time. Still very good tonight, thanks Charles.

Thanks Mike for hosting.

Best,
Marc

Enticing notes and I can see the duck confit with Bonnes Mares as a great pairing. I liked my first Fourrier wine at a tasting in Raleigh and will try to secure some. Also have a Girardin Corton Charlemagne in my collection but it may be a more recent vintage. Will have to check when I get home. Thanks for some good notes on my favorite red variety.

JC,
Have you tried many Groffier wines? I have read some mixed reviews but the '98 Groffier Bonnes Mares was tremendous. Everyone there seemed to agree, it was a "why I drink Burgundy" kind of wine.

The Girardin CC was great, the oak treatment seemed to me just about perfect, which is really important in my view of white wines.

I think Fourrier is far less New Worldish than say Groffier or Girardin. Glad to know the Groffiers eventually seem to integrate.

My impression is Patriarche is sort of the Fred Franzia of Burgundy. But little first hand experience.

thanks for notes.

Marc, no I don't have much experience with Groffier wines. But a Bonnes Mares was the first Grand Cru red Burgundy I ever tasted and set a high standard for what was to follow.

[Jenise]

Marc, thanks for posting the first notes. It was a pleasure to see you again and meet the charming Charles and Warren.

My notes:

1999 Vincent Girardin Corton Charlemagne Deep golden yellow color signaled a massive, textural (your word) wine, and indeed it was. I found it showing more about size than complexity with loads of baked apples and slate. Consistent with my reaction to other Cortons in the past, I was impressed but not attracted.

2004 Dauvissat La Forest Young and fresh, with good minerality, limestone chalk and geranium leaf. I didn't note the sulfur you mention. Very nice wine.

2001 Bouchard Beaune Greves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus My notes say spice, iodine and fresh dirt, gritty tannins. Great nose but short mid-palate, needs time.

2002 Girardin Volnay Santenots Bretty nose with a sharp weedy note that held no promise of fruit. Totally different on the palate with surprisingly full black cherry and raspberry fruit. My vote went with corked because of that nose, but I can't deny that the weedy element in the nose ever developed much on the palate. Flawed, whatever the cause.

2002 Pavelot Savigny Les Beaune When I stood in my cellar and chose this wine, something small and fresh seemed like such a good idea but I knew the minute I walked in the restaurant door I'd made a mistake. "I was going to bring that Rossignol," I said to myself, "What happened? Why not the Dugat-Py? How come I didn't even consider the Bertagna?" Anyway, it was as you say, and as such entirely forgettable.

1997 Jenson 'Calera', California Cherry, plum, green tea and perhaps a touch of eucalyptus on this. Quite youthfully structured and restrained at first, admirably so, and without any of the caramel/rose flavors that usually develop in aging new world pinots, but with time it turned into an unrecognizably different wine, all soft and jammy.

1998 Groffier Bonnes Mares Black cherry, mushrooms, forest floor, and generously spiced. Great balance, and the most complete of the red wines. Was decanted for two hours at home prior to arrival.

b]2000 Jadot Bonnes Mares [/b] Very polished red fruit here, but hard to judge as the wine's very tight and primary and simply not showing all that it will eventually.

1992 Patriarche Pere et Fils Corton What you said.

2001 Fourrier Gevrey Chambertin VV Lovely, expressive nose, with solid cherry and currant fruit and alluring Asian-incense exotic, like sandalwood. In the past I've tended to think I like G-C less than the other Cotes de Nuit appellations, but this bottle made me wonder why. I agreed with your side of the discussion with Charles about this--there was nothing New World about this wine, it was simply consistent with the attributes of the vintage.

1999 La Pousse D'Or Volnay en Caillerets Clos des 60 Ouvrees My notes on this wine are not at all detailed, but I think they indicate that I liked this wine better than you (it was my second favorite): "Beautifully perfumed, very Volnay, FANTASTIC, total seduction."

Thanks again for organizing, I look forward to exploring the Southern Rhone next time.

Jenise, thanks for posting your impressions. I loved the Pousse D'Or volnay, think it will just get better.

A second glass of the Girardin CC was more complex and developed a minerally thing that was very atractive.

The Groffier was great, and I don't have any experience with their top wines, but heard they can be excessively oaked. The '99 Bonnes Mares had perfect balance and just the right touch of wood spice. A revelation.

The Fourrier Gevrey Chambertin has a reputation as being more Chambolle and feminine than other producers Gevrey wines. I think this bottle would fit that description. Just a lovely wine that used to be around for ~$30, and pushes many 1ers in my small experience.

Best,
Marc

[Jenise]

The Groffier was great, and I don't have any experience with their top wines, but heard they can be excessively oaked.

Ditto, but I've never found anything excessive in this wine, nor the one Groffier BM I had before I bought these. Mind you, I can be a bit oak blind so I pulled up a TN Bill Spohn wrote after I took one of these to one of his lunches about a year ago.) He said: "a sweet cherry nose from a quite dark wine, with thick legs. Lovely fruit and quite smooth on palate." No oak problems noted.

The Fourrier Gevrey Chambertin has a reputation as being more Chambolle and feminine than other producers Gevrey wines. I think this bottle would fit that description.

Thanks for the additional background, it definitely does.

Thanks for the notes, Marc. Reminds me that I really don't drink enough Pinot Noir, although I've typed up and posted two recent examples.

A very enticing and interesting lineup. Thanks. Bob