A long time ago I bought some Michel Niellon white burgs. The wines were flabby and overripe--03's, so yeah. I meant to toss them out but never did and recently put one in the outside fridge to chill for a quick taste before dumping. I could see through the light green glass that the contents had undergone some serious color-change.
Last night was the night:
2003 Michel Niellon 1er Cru Les Vergers
Tawny-orange ale color. Not light ale either, medium and rich. Interesting nose of crème brulee, honey and candied nuts. On the palate apricot, honey, toast and lemon peel. Tasted more like a liquid butterhorn pastry than chardonnay as we know it. Bobo's initial reaction "ew, oxidized." But I disagreed--it was heavily caramelized, but there was nothing nasty. It wasn't pruney or sherried. I coached him to set aside the usual white burgundian death sentence and be open-minded the way you are when someone pours you something deliberately different (though I know Niellon didn't intend this). The longer we stayed with it, the more fascinating it got and we ended up finishing and loving that bottle. A real e-ticket ride of a wine, but not for everybody.
It brought back two memories. In my early 20's I dropped in at Chateau Souverain in Sonoma. They poured an old chardonnay that had caramelized color and flavors. It was weird but I loved it and bought a few bottles to take home. My parents loved it and they ended up calling the winery and ordering like five cases. Years later while living in Alaska, we found some old bottles of Krug champagne vintage 1976 in an out of the way liquor store, dusty, forgotten and at their original price. Again, similar color and flavors--not what wine should be, but we loved it and so did everyone we poured them for.
