The Last Hoorah

[monghead]

(well for a little while anyways...)

A couple of days ago, I caught up with MichaelR, griff and Hacker to have my last wine related outing before our second child arrives. Nappy duties don't really bode well with fine dining and wining.

As my deserted island wine would be a burgundy, the theme was just Burgundy.

Thanks lads for the cracking night, the sensational wines, fine banter, and for taking care of my share of the dinner.

Not an extensive list for the 4 of us, but hey, it was a school night...

1996 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses
Oxidative nose that I just can’t get past… There is apple cider, marmalade, and brioche notes, but on the palate which seems fresher, as that oxidative nose almost kills everything... Good acidity, and length, but still had that oxidative caramel sweetness on the finish.
Just Good

2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Perrieres Mersault, Premier Cru
Initially, I was not enamoured by this at all. Fat, almost oily, with reductive characters (rubber, diesel), and tropical fruits (sour sop). Came back to it later in the night and it had tightened right up, and strangely regained its composure, displaying some minerality and spice, though some reductive characteristics remained.
Solid Good

2001 Domaine Jacques Fourrier Clos St Jacques
The bouquet immediately presented a succulent myriad of ripe strawberries, earthy sous bois, and hints of smoky/salty shitake mushroom. Aromatically, this was the most inviting on the night, as there was no need to coax these aromas out. However, I thought it decayed rather quickly in the glass… The frustration of burgundy compounds, as the palate was much shorter than anticipated. Nevertheless though, a joy to savour.
Very Good to Very Very Good

1996 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Richebourg
I’ve always been a fan of the “pop and pour” technique for red burgundy. This however, needed the air-time, and probably would have benefitted from several more hours… I served this blind, and it was opened and poured into a decanter. A little splash in my glass to check for faults, and the thing which struck me was how closed it was. I swirled and swirled, slowly coaxing the wine out from its slumber, and like a big grizzly bear first awakening from its hibernation, it responded at a glacial pace. By this stage, I could sense the natives were getting restless, as glasses were empty, and here I was with this mystery burg, a full decanter clutched in one hand, and the other madly swirling my glass… Anyways, I had to release it, and the initial comments were of hints of spice, charcuterie, tea, and stalk. On the palate, there was terrific depth and concentration, but it wasn’t the “peacock’s tail finish” by any means. There was for me an appreciable whack of fine, soft tannins and acidity, which seemed a little disjointed, and I wonder if it will ever integrate. I think this, with the initial stalkiness, led one of the group to declare it an 04 initially! Over the next couple of hours in the glass (I kept a decent pour almost right to the end of the night), the wine built and built. As it constantly evolved, exotic Asian spices, dark rich fruits, autumnal forest floor, Tie Guan Yin tea, a blood like minerality, and rich earthy goose liver pate type characteristics wafted in and out of the bouquet and palate. By the end of the night, although the sleeping grizzly awoke, it didn’t quite growl and bellow to demand your attention… Rather, it just stood there, tall and proud, confident in its abilities.
Extremely Good

1999 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St Georges (sorry, didn’t quite get which particular label…)
Unfortunately, this failed to excite me. It was still a good wine, with dark, ripe almost candied fruits, some gamy and mineral elements, but without a great deal of complexity. There was almost no tannins, and only very soft acidity, giving it almost a glycerine-like new world finish.
Good Good

2011 Domaine Dujac Vosne Romanee Aux Malconsorts
Bright red fruits, spring forest, and five spice powder. Quite tight and unyielding at this stage on the palate though, with the crunchy Dujac steminess, appreciable acidity, and firm tannins.
Good Good to Very Good

[Mike Hawkins]

(well for a little while anyways...)

A couple of days ago, I caught up with MichaelR, griff and Hacker to have my last wine related outing before our second child arrives. Nappy duties don't really bode well with fine dining and wining.

As my deserted island wine would be a burgundy, the theme was just Burgundy.

Thanks lads for the cracking night, the sensational wines, fine banter, and for taking care of my share of the dinner.

Not an extensive list for the 4 of us, but hey, it was a school night...

1996 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses
Oxidative nose that I just can’t get past… There is apple cider, marmalade, and brioche notes, but on the palate which seems fresher, as that oxidative nose almost kills everything... Good acidity, and length, but still had that oxidative caramel sweetness on the finish.
Just Good

Along with Selosse, I find that Goisses is perhaps the most polarising champagne. Both seem to be the subject of endless debate by people with much better palates than mine.... In my experience, Goisses seems to go through multiple phases, fluctuating between excellence and mediocrity. I've decided that waiting till 25+ years to drink a good vintage is the way to go. For the record, I love the 1996, and so it was a shame your was less than stellar.

And all the best with the new family addition !

Cheers

Mike

[Hacker]

Thank you Len for the writeup and for my first experience with such a focused and revered wine as the DRC. As part of our options game I showed my true ignorance by confidently predicting the wine as a premier cru . As I later said to Mick, that is the last time I will be invited to an event like this, to be sure!

[Michael R]

Thanks for another wonderful night everyone, and great notes Len.
The past couple of months have been one hell of a binge. I’m glad you’re out of action for a while mate, give me a chance to replenish the cellar!

Couple of points to add to yours.
Only my second time to try a DRC, and both times the nose has left me in awe. Was so good to try this blind, as it blew me away from the start.
Particularly as I enjoyed the nose on the Fourrier beforehand, but this was on an entirely different planet. And the main reason I figured it to be a GC.
The palate didn’t shine straight away for me either, until much later. Plenty of class, but perhaps not quite up to the nose in terms of sheer wow factor.
Incredible experience to try this blind, and so generous of you to share.

The Dujac was very disappointing. Granted its young and will surely improve (probably could have used a decant too), but what a let down, particularly at the price.
Awkward and quite coarse. I couldn’t even drink a second glass. Says it all really.

Best of luck with the pending new arrival