A fantastic opportunity to taste some burgundy before heading into work arose, so I headed over to RN74 in San Francisco to educate my palate. Started off with some chardonnay in the 2007 Giradin St-Véran, which is obtained (if my notes are reliable) from three different villages within the St-Veran appelation of the Mâconnais. Noticeable sulfur (I think) on the nose and not so much depth—just fruit at the moment. I liked it more, however, than another chardonnay from the Mâconnais, the 2007 Giradin Pouilly-Fuissé VV, which offered rounded peachy white fruit, which was nice enough, but just felt marred by oak—I couldn't really appreciate anything else about it. No worries, however, as what white burgundy can do was confirmed with the arrival of an entry from the Côte de Beaune proper, the 2006 Giradin Meursault Genevrières caught my fancy even with the name—which reminded me of my gin-drinking day in Antwerp some years back. And appropriately so, as the vineyard is named after the juniper bushes that (once?) grew there. Nothing on the nose, but a beautiful, beautiful base lying underneath, soft and sleek with a lasting, persistent finish that made me think of fireflies. Stunning stuff. Moving one kilometer south, the 2006 Giradin Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes offered a multifaceted nose and tasted of rounded peach fruit, on the simpler and sweeter side and not to my preferences—not sure how this one might develop, but simple and rather sweet right now. Moving north of Beaune and onto some grand cru, the 2006 Giradin Corton Charlemagne had a completely awesome nose that reminded me of faint popcorn. Really reserved, excellent focus, light white pepper, though I found the wine very precise and very impressively so, I found its richness to be excessive for my style, though this might be something that develops nicely over time. Nonetheless the wine was absolutely stunning—but it didn't make my heart skip a beat for knowing what I like. Heading south again for more grand cru, the 2006 Giradin Bâtard Montrachet was just plain hard to read—thick, lumbering, and weighty. A sleeping giant that requires someone with greater palate experience than I to read it. Moving onto pinot noir and the southernmost reaches of the Côte de Beaune, the 2005 Giradin Santenay was bright and peppery on the nose, and offered rich luxurious fruit, californiaesque without that troublesome alcohol, absolutely delicious fruit. Heading north within the Côte de Beaune, the 2005 Giradin Puligny-Montrachet had smoky very pleasant nose and tasted earthy, slightly tart, bright, light, and ready to fight. Onto the Côte de Nuits for some grand cru with the 2005 Giradin Charmes-Chambertin, the nose of which was absolutely phenomenal. Very elegant fruit, very defined but remaining softness on the sides, charcoal backbone. An interesting wine. A bit south still within the Côte de Nuits, the 2005 Giradin Clos de Vouget Grand Cru was smoky and earthy on the nose and offered kick-ass fruit, multidimensional with a great finish. A very revealing wine to how delicious a wine defined by its fruit can be (not necessarily my style, especially considered the tariff, but it is *very* nice to taste wine like this).
Giradin in the bag, I headed over to the other side of the table and restarted the chardonnay clock with the 2007 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Champ Canet which had a vibrant young nose (much more interesting than the muted/sulfured Mâconnais players) and offered my style of brisk good acid, a great grip, crisp and delicious until the oaky finish comes in and marrs the whole experience. Am I turning into Otto? Back to pinot noir at the northernmost reaches of the Côte de Nuits, the 2006 Bruno Clair Marsannay Les Vaudenelles had a weird nose suggestive of olives, but had fruit that offered a lot of depth beyond just fruit, heavy but still remaining precise, very impressive. Moving south within the Côte de Nuits, the 2006 Mongeard-Mugneret Vosne-Romanée Orveaux had another weird nose, battery acid, and tasted very spicy (nice) and very heavy (less so) but I didn't care for it due to the raisened quality of the fruit. Moving on village north, the 2006 Mongeard-Mugneret Vougeot Les Crâs had slight sulfur (I think) on the nose and was very elusive to taste. Obviously soft and elegant, bright at the moment, but probably my favorite aging candidate for the afternoon. Special. Meanwhile the grand cru entry, the 2006 Mongeard-Mugneret Clos Vougeot offered some of that great interesting fruit, but felt less interesting/inviting in terms of the texture. Bright and chipper on the finish balanced by some dark earth, lots to like about this wine, but I preferred the mystery of the Les Crâs (though this is where my notes were marked by my palate fatigue doodle—sorry! A pro I am not!). And just in time, jaunting just a bit south for the 2006 Liger-Belair Nuits-St-Georges Les St Georges which had a layered fun nose suggestive of summer and tasted like drinking the farmer's market, which is a very good thing, but my notes suggesting that what makes it so exciting to drink alone to enjoy those very individualistic flavors might make it less excitable to me over the course of an entire bottle. But palate fatigue is here, and it's time to head to work . . .