This month’s poker wine tasting event entitled Into the Burg's Nest had Karl supplying a great line-up of red Burgundies and Andy providing room and board, cooking up a bevy of delicious dishes. Andy rounded out his performance in the kitchen with a winning performance at the poker table and will be our host for next month’s event, as well. A huge thanks to both gentlemen.
All wines were served blind, but Karl did give us a clue with the titles of each flight.
Flight 1: White starter wine
2007 Cave de Saumur Saumur Blanc “Les Pouches”. Before pouring this, I was thinking for sure it would be a white Burgundy, knowing Karl. However, from the very start, it did not seem to fit that mold and eventually I was able to correctly deduce Loire Chenin Blanc, but I guessed it to be about 10 years older than it actually was. The color of the wine is a cloudy green/yellow. It has pretty aromatics of soft chalk, grapefruit, pineapple and a certain grassiness in a light-styled package. Later on, it gains in complexity, as it pulls in richer notes of hazelnuts, beeswax, lemon peel, honeydew melon and crushed stones. It is a bit puckering in the mouth, with grapefruit and pineapple flavors that are tart and just a touch bitter around the edges. There are some waxy, honeyed notes to go with the citrus, too. The acidity level is high and marries well with the fine powdered minerality running through it. It finishes clean, with pretty good length. Certainly a fine QPR and a great way to start the afternoon.
Flight 2: Two wines from the same vintage
1993 Robert Ampeau Volnay 1er Cru Santenots. The nose here is fragrant with aromas of dried musky flowers, tree bark, grape stems, horsehide, dried cranberry, tea leaves and rocky soil that ride above a streak of skunky fern notes running beneath. Upon entry, one notices a very nice velvety texture, but very quickly the wine turns more acidic and austere—eventually totally drying out the palate. Bittersweet flavors of dark cranberry, charcoal, dried blood, iron and big spices lead to a finish that is just a touch metallic and tough, perhaps even turning more leathery in texture. This shows some age but also seems very tight and austere—demanding more time. This profile led me to a wild guess that these might be from 1993—a shocking stroke of luck.
1993 Domaine Bertagna Vougeot 1er Cru Clos de la Perriere. This is cloudier and a bit darker in appearance than its flight-mate, but showing some clearer orange at the rim. It presents a darker, more burly and masculine nose featuring black cherries, forest greenery, dark mocha, dusty earth and bridle leather aromas. I like this wine better in the mouth, as it displays a very pretty inner perfume of purple flowers and pretty flavors of crushed red berries and bing cherries. It has nice depth and good richness to go along with a fine twang of balancing acidity. Tannins are round and pillowy and seem to be getting close to being resolved—leading to a clean easy finish. This had me second-guessing my assessment of 1993, but I had no better guesses, so… Anyway, wine of the flight easily for me.
Flight 3: Two wines from the same producer and vintage
1999 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru. There is effusive and sweet red berry fruit on the nose right off the bat, along with dark toasted caramel and tomato leaves. It is bright and fresh-feeling in the mouth, with tingly tart red berry and currant flavors. There is an interesting matte feel to the texture to go along with medium weight and good balance. Nothing really seems out of place, as it flows very nicely and ends with a pleasant roundness and just a hint of an austere edge that shows itself intermittently. This was my wine of the flight and #3 wine of the day (based on current drinking pleasure).
1999 Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches. This has a more serious, brooding nose of dark cranberries, spiced plum or raisin and Christmas fruitcake. In the mouth, it feels a bit syrupy in texture, though not really heavy-bodied. Indeed, it is fairly taut and racy--with intensely pure red cherry juice the dominant flavor component. It turns a bit brighter toward the finish, which has some good drive. Still, it feels more serious and less charming than its flight-mate, though I imagine this will be the longer-lived wine. As far as guesses, I had absolutely no clue on the vintage and even less clue on the producer.
Flight 4: Two wines from the same producer and vineyard
2000 Bonneau du Martray Corton. This wine initially smells of sappy raspberries, limestone chalk, toasted stems, dark cherry and earth. As it sits, the stemmy character grows and some wintergreen, jalepeno and menthol notes fold in and eventually become dominant. The wine is well-constructed and really hangs together beautifully in the mouth, with flavors of black cherry, dark berry preserves and menthol. It has a certain airiness to it, yet feels decidedly focused. Indeed, it feels a bit linear and narrow the closer to the back of the palate it gets. This is nice, but it feels to me like it certainly needs more time to flesh out.
2001 Bonneau du Martray Corton. The nose here is smoky, with aromas of toasted herbs, black raspberries, tea leaves, bridle leather, forest floor and faint sarsaparilla notes. It is richly sappy in the mouth, but with tart acidity and some soft sneaky tannins on a firm and structured frame. There is good intensity to the dark berry fruits and the wine has solid presence and drive, showing off its spicy smoky character nicely. It turns more herbal on the finish. I really had no preference between the two wines (I would take the 2000 if pressed), but I could sense that these were Grand Cru quality (we were told one flight would feature Grand Crus). Still, these were not my favorite—showing young and taut and a bit firm for me. That definitely went against the grain of the crowd, however, which voted the 2000 as wIne of the day and the 2001 #3 of the day.
Flight 5: Two wines from the same vintage and vineyard
2001 Frederic Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos Prieur”. Both wines in Flight 5 are lightly colored and fairly transparent. This one has some skunky notes, along with spiced cherry, aloe, jalepeno pepper and fireplace ash aromas. It is very dry in the mouth, with a tight, sinewy feel and a sharply acidic spine. It has some red berry fruit that feels fresh, but this is narrowly-focused right now and just beginning to unfold. Again, I think my perceptions here did not line up well with the group, as this was voted the #2 wine of the day.
2001 Joseph Roty Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos Prieur”. I liked this wine a good deal. It has a very appealing nose of velvety crushed berries and spiced cherries, along with very similar accent notes to the wine above—notably jalapeno pepper and fireplace ash. Overall, though, it is much more attractively done and feels more cohesive and clean. The wine is delightfully sappy in the mouth, with a good amount of body and plenty of flavor intensity. Some fine but youthful tannins come in on the finish, which is otherwise juicy and classy. This was my #2 wine of the day, though it has to be said that when I came back to it at the end of the day, it felt like it had begun to shut down pretty hard.
Flight 6: A red wine
1998 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin-Clos de Beze. For me, this was the most complete wine. It offers up big plush aromas of velvety sweet red fruit and interesting herbal notes. It really fills the mouth and touches all the crevices with its zesty berry fruit and citrus notes. It has fabulous intensity and plenty of velvety fruit that is layered and appropriately rich. It feels sort of sexy and luxuriant, with downy, comforting tannins framing the rounded finish. My wine of the day.
Flight 7: A basic and luxury sweet wine cuvee from the same producer and year
1996 Château Tirecul La Graviere Monbazillac. This is a dark golden color. It has a wide-open nose of crème brulee topping, caramel, peach pit, lime pith, kiwi fruit and some gently oxidized notes that seem to fade with time. In the mouth, it is richly sugary-sweet, with flavors of caramel, spun sugar, spices, poached apricots. For all the sweetness, there is a good acid backbone to carry it along. It is viscous but not overly weighty. It is long, but just really sweet to me, which becomes a bit too much for me by the bottom of the glass.
1996 Chateau Tirecul La Graviere Monbazillac Cuvee Madame. To me, this is heavenly. The bouquet features gorgeous apricot marmalade, botrytis cream, pure vanilla, brown spice, lime peel, pure liquid caramel and butterscotch galore. In the mouth, it has incredible viscosity and is super-fleshy. It has huge weight and just clings to the tongue, but is not ponderous at all. The sweetness level is high but much more finely tuned and in balance than in the basic cuvee. The flavors are delicious—with caramel, brown sugar and cooked down apricots and peach reduction. This is just beautiful. A wonderful end to a day of poker.
-Michael