WTN: lots and lots of '93 Volnay with SOBER

Cathleen hosted SOBER last night, and did a spectacular job even though she and Steve both worked all day. The rain ended just as I arrived, and we waited for everyone to arrive (it took a while, some folks apparently have better GPS than others- me, I'm old school with just a map).

Cathleen had just come back from France, had brought some foie gras which was served with toast and three bubblies:

Blind Sparkling #1 :Round, soft acids, fruity, creamy, nice. John gets BdB quickly. 2000 Domaine Carneros "La Reve" Blanc de Blanc B/B+

Blind Sparkling #2 : Much higher acids, bite and grip, light nutty notes, brioche, complex, I like this. 1998 Gosset "Celebris" Brut Champagne. A-

Blind Sparkling #3 : Pale rose, the bottle shape leaves little to guess about. Strawberries and cherries, French toast and mineral. Long long finish. Delicate but with power. Great bubbly. 2000 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Brut Rose. A

First sitdown course was crab cake with potato chips and tartar/remoulade, with two whites:

Blind White #1 I think everyone was in white Burgundy immediately. Exotic ripe nose with oak, quince, peaches,and hazelnut. Craig went to Meursault immediately, John agreed, Cathleen confirmed. Not a lot of rock/mineral, I am surpised at the year/vineyard, the combo I would have expected to be zippier/more mineral. But I liked (maybe more than group). 1993 Robert Ampeau "Les Perrieres" Meursault 1er. B+

Blind White #2 Not as exotic, but clearly Burgundy. Nose is steely clean, chalky, and without apparent oak, I thought maybe Chablis, but softer/rounder on palate. Clean and with no oxidation. 1996 Jadot Meursault. B

Moved to reds, which were accompanied by roast duck, green beans, potatoes:

First flight. Most seemed clear Burgundy, though some guesses of California for #2. #4 seemed ripest, and someone thought 1990, but Cathleen reveal it was a horizontal of '93s:

#1 - I thought this lovely and balanced, silky texture, red fruit with coffee and earth, I liked more than group. 1993 Jacques Prieur Volnay-Santenots 1er A-

#2 Round, soft, with a somewhat weird cherry cola note (which is why I agreed when someone said maybe CA). Only wine of night that seems to devolve in glass. 1993 Louis Latour Volnay-Santenots 1er B-/C+

#3 A bit tight at first, opens to fresh fruit, earth, some vanilla. Still some tannins, needs time. 1993 Comtes Lafon Volnay-Santenots 1er B+

#4 Lush, ripe, though with some balancing acids. Not bad at all. Never heard of producer. 1993 Glantenay Volnay-Santenots 1er B/B+

Second red flight. Clearly Burgundy, and it wasn't long before someone (Dan?) realized it was a continuation of same horizontal.

#5 Red cherries, herbs/pot, medium bodied. 1993 Robert Ampeau Volnay-Santenots 1er B+

#6 Sulfury nose, big crushed berry fruit, sweet, a little empty. 1993 Mikulski Volnay-Santenots 1er B-

#7 a touch of bretty stink, but within my tolerance. Solid midweight Burgundy. 1993 Matrot Volnay-Santenots 1er B/B+

More Volnay-Santenots (which of course is actually in Meursault) than I've ever tasted at once!

Third red flight. Some question of possibly Bdx or Rhone, but we got back to Burgundy quickly, and it turned out to be more 1993s
(I'm using Cathleen's numbering)

#1 Ripe, somewhat lifted nose. Bigger than most earlier reds, somewhat herby, quite short compared to others. 1993 Clerget "Les Caillerets " Volnay 1er B-

#2 Good, nice length, some tannins. 1993 Bitouzet-Prieur "Les Caillerets" Volnay 1er B+

#3 Biggest red to date, some tannins, good acids, strong fruit core but far from ready. 1993 d'Angerville "Les Caillerets " Volnay 1er. A-

#4 Ripe, tannic, a little stinky, a tad short but nice enough. 1993 Pousse d'Or "Les Caillerets " Volnay 1er B

(about here there were some cheeses, which I'm sure weren't carried back from France, because that might not be legal)

Fourth red flight- ok, with the numbering it wasn't hard to guess this was mostly a continuation of horizontal, though one wasn't Caillerets.

#5 Sweet, ripe, lovely - more ready than most others. I thought delicious. 1993 Jean Boillot "Les Caillerets " Volnay 1er A-

#6 More sweet/sappy fruit, integrated oak, nice length. 1993 Bouchard "Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvee Carnot " Volnay 1er B+

#7 Actually seemed thin at first, but really put on weight in glass. Black cherries, raspberry, high acidity and tannins, needs time. 1993 d'Angerville "Clos des Ducs " Volnay 1er B+/A-

Really fun and educational horizontal. Only maybe the Latour and Boillot didn't seem to warrant more time, and the Latour and maybe the Mikulski was only ones that was really weak, a pretty solid showing from a range of producers. Hard to say 1993 is only good at top level with this showing.

With dessert, the 1976 Schloss Schonborn Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Beerenauslese (Rheingau). Deep dark color, lower acids, lots of botrytis. Fully mature. A-/B+

Fun night.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Thanks for the notes, Dale.

I remember having a bottle of the '93 Ampeau Santenots last October and I thought is smelled of musky flowers and stems, but I am pretty sure in retrospect that I also could have used your much simpler and more evocative description of "pot"!

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 this might be from 1993—a shocking stroke of luck.

-Michael

Thanks for response, Michael. I can recognize the wine, though I never thought austere last night. But this was the one wine I remember having before, at a Volnay tasting in '06 I found this austere and acidic. One would think with late release (think this was a new release in '05 or so) Ampeau would be more consistent, but I find a lot of variability.

An amazing tasting. I think Dale hit everything perfectly. Overall, I remain unconvinced by average Volnay ; the best such as d'Angerville are extremely good (2005 is even better than that) but below that top grade, they seemed a little simpler than say their equivalent in Nuits.

Overall, I remain unconvinced by average Volnay ; the best such as d'Angerville are extremely good (2005 is even better than that) but below that top grade, they seemed a little simpler than say their equivalent in Nuits.

I don't know, it depends on how you define the equivalents of Glantenay, Bitouzet Prieur, Matrot, J. Boillot, Louis Latour, Mikulski , or Bouchard.
The only wines we had that most people would put at top were the Angervilles & Comtes Lafon, maybe the Pousse d'Or (though this wasn't the 60 Ouvrees). We had no Lafarge, Montille, etc. If you did a lineup of maybe NSG 1ers with only a couple of say Chevillon or Meo wines, would it be that much more complex? Hey, maybe a theme for another tasting!

Overall, I remain unconvinced by average Volnay ; the best such as d'Angerville are extremely good (2005 is even better than that) but below that top grade, they seemed a little simpler than say their equivalent in Nuits.

I don't know, it depends on how you define the equivalents of Glantenay, Bitouzet Prieur, Matrot, J. Boillot, Louis Latour, Mikulski , or Bouchard.
The only wines we had that most people would put at top were the Angervilles & Comtes Lafon, maybe the Pousse d'Or (though this wasn't the 60 Ouvrees). We had no Lafarge, Montille, etc. If you did a lineup of maybe NSG 1ers with only a couple of say Chevillon or Meo wines, would it be that much more complex? Hey, maybe a theme for another tasting!

Hi Dale,
this is the second comprehensive Volnay tasting I have been to and found the median OK, but not great. With NSG, the same type of producers such as Arlot, Rion, Jadot, Mongeard Mugneret make to my mind better wines.

With NSG, the same type of producers such as Arlot, Rion, Jadot, Mongeard Mugneret make to my mind better wines.

Not just wines that are more in tune with your stylistic preferences, but qualitatively better?

Rahsaan,
you're a better man than me if you can consistently separate quality from preference.

Mark.
pricewise I was thinking the more apt price comparisons to those Volnays I listed (except the Mikulski, no experience there, and never heard of Glantenay before last Tues) would be things like F. Esmonin, Chanson. M. Gros, etc. In any case, I'm a Volnay fan, but typically buy Angerville, Lafarge, and Montille, whose village wines and top 1ers cost a lot less than equivalent producers in CdN. The only one of those less esteemed wn Volnays I've bought is Bitouzet-P, where I bought 2005 village for $25 and Taillepieds for $55, as my faves shot up so much.

With NSG, the same type of producers such as Arlot, Rion, Jadot, Mongeard Mugneret make to my mind better wines.

Not just wines that are more in tune with your stylistic preferences, but qualitatively better?

While I am the first to say that most winetasting is subjective, Latour is still a better wine than Lynch Moussas. NSGs are generally better than Volnay. To me, it is a relatively fair comparison, as I am comparing premier crus to other premier crus. I know though, that the Cote de Nuits are generally considered better than their counterparts in the Cote de Beaune, and perhaps I should take into account price or even QPR, but it is amazing how often I can pick up a Nuits at a decent price, and not feel the need for an average Volnay.

NSG are generally better than Volnay. To me, it is a relatively fair comparison, as I am comparing premier crus to other premier crus.

I don't have enough experience here to speak authoritatively but it seems to me that there are a lot of highly-regarded Premier Crus and producers in both villages and if anything I would have thought that there was more prestige attached to Volnay as opposed to NSG (which often gets characterized as 'rustic'). In the end, I tend to think of the two villages mainly in terms of different styles/expressions/terroir. But again, my tasting experience is far from comprehensive.

Funny, perhaps because Volnay is an over-achiever by CdB standards and NSG an under-achiever by CdN standards, I've always been more drawn to the former. But that has nothing to do with the wines, which have been perhaps equally variable.

Funny, perhaps because Volnay is an over-achiever by CdB standards and NSG an under-achiever by CdN standards...

Maybe, although I should add to balance out my 'defense' of Volnay that I am drinking and enjoying a lot of NSG these days and it is (part of) my current focus on Burgundy. Mainly because I fell in love with the wines of Gouges.