This event was Friday May 15 at the White Elephant Hotel. The winemakers present were Alex Gambal, Bertrand Ambroise, Christian Moreau. We also had wine from Oliver Leflaive and Joseph Drouhin house but Laurent Drouhin was absent due to family reasons. He was seated at my table at this event the previous year.
I believe the first course was seared swordfish paired with two white wines.
2008 ALEX GAMBAL ST. AUBIN 1ER CRU "LES MURGERS DE DENTS DE CHIEN." Alex said this wine was stepping away from young, exuberant fruit and showing some secondary traits. 2008 was a difficult vintage for the reds but always good for the whites. It has some light toasty notes and vanillin but also minerality. The wine spent 15-16 months in barrel and a few more in stainless steel containers. I was really loving it.
2013 MAISON AMBROISE NUITS-ST.-GEORGES TERRES BLANCHES (a white wine.) Darker color than the St. Aubin. 18 months new French oak. Medium to long finish. Shows purity.
The third white wine was 2011 OLIVIER LEFLAIVE PULIGNY-MONTRACHET 1ER CRU "LES PUCELLES." Next to Bienvenue Batard-Montrachet, limestone soil. In my impression, this wine started out faint and not too inspiring but the flavor and depth built on the palate until it became quite attractive. It had some citrus notes ("acidity" and "mouth-watering" Michael Madrigal says.) "Too young to drink now" the Leflaive representative says. I thought the St. Aubin actually rivaled the "Les Pucelles."
2008 CHRISTIAN MOREAU CHABLIS GRAND CRU LES CLOS "CLOS DES HOSPICES."
Medium-gold color. Uses 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-yr. old oak barrels and natural fermentation. Sufficient minerality and acidity. Tastes young for a seven-year-old wine. Very nice.
Our first red Burgundy was 2013 MAISON AMBROISE NUITS-ST.-GEORGES 1ER CRU "LES VAUCRAINS." Cherry colored, lighter rim with semi-transparency. Bertrand says perfect wine for red meats. I thought the flavor evoked dark raspberries but I couldn't quite pin down the nose. Some blurred tannins. Bertrand says "blackberry" flavor--eat with rabbit or duck perhaps. Soil is solid limestone. The wine is longer lived than some other N-S-G 1er Cru vineyards.
2013 MAISON AMBROISE N-S-G 1ER CRU "EN RUE DE CHAUX." Chaux means lime or chalk. Lighter flavor than the Vaucrains but approximately the same color. I found more cherry than raspberry (or blackberry) in this wine.
2011 JOSEPH DROUHIN BEAUNE 1ER CRU CLOS DE MOUCHES. The vineyard is planted half with Chardonnay and half with Pinot Noir. Aged in 20% new oak. Older barrels are eventually sold off to sherry and scotch producers. A little puckery. The vintage was a bit austere. A smoky cherry flavor.
2011 JOSEPH DROUHIN GRAND CRU CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN. Transparency in the glass. Elegant and understated. Shows potential for further development of depth and complexity.
Still to come: a Cune (C.V.N.E.) tasting (Spanish reds); Pinot Noir from Cote d'Or to Willamette Valley; a wine dinner with Dr. Ernst Loosen (German Riesling) and J. Christopher (Oregon Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc) and the Grand Tasting session on Sunday.