), but the friendships are strong and enduring. For this tasting the host asked for five years or older white Burgundy from any appellation except Chablis or Russian River chardonnays, and red Margauxs at least ten years old. Six bottles of champagne were consumed before the tasting. There were 14 attendees.
The whites (only six because one person who doesn't read details, or pretends not to in order to not have to go to the trouble of sourcing the right wine, brought a village red burgundy):
2017 Fog Crest Vineyard Chardonnay Estate 548 Russian River Valley
Russian River vs. Burgundy blind tasting. Fruity and evolved, most likely RR. Group 1st, my 3rd.
2014 Yves Boyer-Martenot Puligny-Montrachet Les Reuchaux Chardonnay
Russian River vs. Burgundy blind tasting. Group 2nd, my 5th. Sweet, new worldish fruit up front with good acidity and a dry finish.
2020 Henri et Gilles Buisson Saint-Romain Sous le Château Blanc Chardonnay
My contribution. Group 3rd, my 1st. In 2023 I jumped the gun declaring I would not buy this again, but now I realize we just drank it too soon. This second bottle was superb and still showing as very young but absent the juvenile lemon-lime character I noted last time. Big, full and now loaded with lemony complexity and reduction. Acidity adds tension and character. The most Burgundian wine on the table--I didn't recognize it as mine for certain, but I sure hoped it was! This will drink well for years.
2018 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard Russian River Valley
Russian River vs. Burgundy blind tasting. Ripe and probably Californian. Group 4th, my 4th.
2020 Domaine du Chateau de Pierreclos Pouilly-Fuissé Chardonnay
Russian River vs. California blind tasting. Lightly reductive, very balanced, has to be Burgundy. My 2nd, group 5th.
2020 Williams Selyem Chardonnay Heintz Vineyard Russian River Valley
Sweet, swampy-vegetal, oxidative. Calling it 'flawed' based on obviously better notes by others. Apparently a recent purchase at Total Wine.
Then came the Margauxs about which I took very few notes because the setup was a little rough. . There were 7 in all but we were instructed to only taste four, keep our favorite, and then have it compete against the last three. (Because nobody had more than six glasses.) Strangely, there were three Malescots, and two were '15s (possibly recent Total Wine purchases). Most were not opened/decanted sufficiently in advance. My Palmer was based on my last tasting of it, but this bottle didn't show well. My #1 was the 08 Malescot and my numbers 2 and 3 were the two Malescot '15s, though I did not find them identical. An '05 Giscours took 7th place, a '95 Prieure-LIchine took 5th, and an '05 Pavillon Rouge (heralded in advance as Chateau Margaux by its owner who doesn't understand Bordeaux seconds--same person who brought the aforementioned red burgundy) took 3rd.
2004 Château Palmer Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend
I shipped to L.A. for a blind Margaux tasting three weeks prior to the event. Friends kept it upright and decanted it about four hours in advance. It didn't show well. At first we suspected TCA, but with time that backed off to merely herbaceous and a modicum of Palmer perfume appeared but not enough to make a good impression. Prior bottles have been beautiful and would have slayed the category. Group 6th place (of 7).
2008 Château Malescot St. Exupéry Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend
Margaux blind tasting. Elegant, aged, evolved, ready. Group #1, my #1.
