WTN: Catching Up Pt. 2 (2 Wh Burgs, 1 Rd Burg)

CATCHING UP: TASTES FROM THE MERCHANT - Bottom of Ebisu Garden Place (4/13/2006-4/15/2006)

A few recent lunchtime "Here, try this" tastes.

• 2003 Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs Bourgogne - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne (4/13/2006)
  Do you care where wine comes from and what it is made from? If not, this wine is for you. Nice ripe “grapes and sun” fruit reminds one of grenache while a hint of pepper and meat makes one wonder how much syrah was blended in. Tasted blind, that’s what my response is. And, if you’re looking for a nice Côtes-du-Rhone, this will fit the bill. It even has enough tannic structure and heft to make it a wee bit “serious” as C-d-R go. Too bad it’s a Burg. Victim of the vintage, I suspect. Not for me.
• 2003 Emmanuel Giboulot Bourgogne Blanc - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bourgogne Blanc (4/15/2006)
  (Tasted in store, then more in a more leisurely way from a full bottle at home.) A lighter straw yellow than the Chatelaine, this looks younger and fresher. Nose shows ripe apple fruit with a nice undercurrent of citrus and just a hint of something tropical. The palate follows suit with surprisingly good acid and a lean definition that is quite pleasing. Not a lot of complexity or size, but a nicely defined effort for the vintage. My wife is sending me out for more. According to the merchant this is chardonnay blended with pinot gris and pinot blanc. The lighter gris/blanc in the mix definitely shows up in the form of a quenchable fresh element that was missing from the Chatelaine.
• 2003 Emmanuel Giboulot Le Grande Chatelaine - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune (4/14/2006)
  A bit of gold depth sneaking into the expected younger straw yellow and a surprising hint of viscosity as one swirls the wine around. Nose is sweet and opulent, but with ripe fruit sweetness, not oak sweetness. There’s also a bit of mineral to go with the tropical fruit. On the palate, more tropical fruit with pineapple and passion fruit. Again, there’s a bit of attractive mineral underneath, but it is all overwhelmed by the ripe, ripe opulence of the fruit. There’s just no acid or any angled edges to put the fruit in relief or bring any freshness. Another victim of the vintage, I suppose.

Posted from CellarTracker

According to the merchant this is chardonnay blended with pinot gris and pinot blanc.

I know there are small patches of pinot blanc interspersed throughout Burgundy, but never knew of Pinot Gris (they're all just different clones of pinot Noir, right? ). Interesting, thanks.

Thanks! Excellent notes once again. I'm not so sure the Méo was just the vintage. Having tasted through the 2001s and 2002s recently, I found them very Rhoney and modern also. Not really a Domaine I enjoy.

Dale:

I never knew about any pinot gris either. Just went and checked Allen Meadows's site and he indicates that this is two-thirds pinot beurot (pinot gris) and one-third chardonnay. He makes no mention of pinot blanc.

I was about to write that I should always check burghound.com before posting on Burgs since there is so much good info there. But I'll probably continue to prove myself wrong after the fact as I really don't like to read other peoples' notes before writing my own. I'm not particularly suggestible, but it is hard to avoid some hint of it.

Jim

Otto:

Please note that this was from the negoce side of Méo, not the domaine. I'm not the world's greatest Méo fan either, but this is the first one that I would describe as downright Rhonish.

In any case, there are better producers on whom to spend my meager wine dollars.

Enjoy,

Jim