WTNs: '01 Weegmuller & '96 Burguet

2001 Weingut Weegmuller Haardter Herrenletten Riesling Kabinett (12/31/08)
What a great kabinett. Medium golden yellow color. Light tropical fruits and pencil eraser on the nose. Not too fruity in the mouth with great acidic backbone. Excellent detail and clarity. The wine is ready to go now but certainly has the stuffing to evolve well into old age. Great producer that doesn't seem to get too much press. I believe that they are located quite close to Muller-Catoir in the Pfalz.

1996 Alain Burguet Gevrey-Chambertin VV (12/31/08)
Dark for a pinot, light bricking throughout.
Day 1: After two hours the wine is showing very little. Every now and again hints of burgundian pinot show themselves only to be quickly enveloped by what I would describe as a well made but generic pinot. A long, palate staining finish makes you wonder if this wine was opened to young!
Day 2: What has emerged overnight is a totally new wine. Great meaty sois bois on the nose and a muscular and almost meaty palate of red fruits stains the mouth. The long finish remains. Big meaty wine (for a pinot) that just screams out where it came from. Its amazing that this village level wine seems to be only barely emerging from it's youth at 13 years of age.
*This wine is now called "Mes Favorites VV"

1996 Alain Burguet Gevrey-Chambertin VV (12/31/08)
Day 2: What has emerged overnight is a totally new wine. Great meaty sois bois on the nose and a muscular and almost meaty palate of red fruits...

So if I understand you correctly, this wine became meatier overnight?

That is curious indeed. I would usually expect the opposite. I.E. attenuated fruit.

It was the first time that I have encountered anything like this. Day 1 the wine was just mute, every once in a while a little hint of meatiness (or what I would characterize as burgundian pinot) would emerge but then quickly go back into hiding.

It really wasn't until day 2 that the wine showed anything. Again, really the first time that I have encountered a wine having such a profound change with extended exposure to oxygen, particularly a burg.

[David M. Bueker]

Hi Chris - glad to see you in this part of the woods.

Weegmuller has vines in many of the same vineyards as Catoir, and had a friendly, informal relationship with the old Catoir winemaker (Schwartz) around the time of his retirement from Catoir. There was never a formal consulting agreement, and there's really no stylistic similarity to Catoir, but the wines are good if you can find them.

It really wasn't until day 2 that the wine showed anything. Again, really the first time that I have encountered a wine having such a profound change with extended exposure to oxygen, particularly a burg.

I find that changes over night are often profound, but not necessarily in a good direction for red wines.

But, there are so many different variables.

Rahsaan,
Agree, I've encountered wines that improve a little with exposure to oxygen but have never seen a wine completely change like this. Then again I don't have a huge amount of experience. Another reason why wine is so fascinating.

David,
Thanks! The amount of expertise and experience that I encounter on these boards is great, particulary for someone like me who is still finding his feet in the wine world. The Weegmullers seem to be great wines... I have a stash of some of the '01 Burgergarten Spat as well. The wine had a Thiese import strip on it but wasn't listed in his 01 catalog... I know that they are imported by someone else these days...

[David M. Bueker]

Terry only brought in one or two vintages of Weegmuller. I think it was Hans-Gunter Schwarz who started the relationship, but it didn't gel.