Notes from Friday lunch at Sala with Aaron opening some Burgundy samples for evaluation.
While waiting for every one to show up, we started with some Champagne.
Piper-Heidsieck Brut NV - A very good basic Champgane for the price. Rich, lively, deep flavor. Good fruit and a hint of tobacco as well. A good way to whet the appetite.
With Noel showing up, naturally we had to have:
Domaine Tempier Bandol Rose 2007 - Beautiful faded old rose color. Very refreshing, gentle and well-balanced wine. Definitely one of the better roses out there but I just can't get myself to spend $ 40.00 for this. Good thing I can always count on Noel to have a bottle of this handy.
On to the reds. To be tasted were 4 Premiers Crus Burgundies of Olivier Bernstein, a very new micro-Negociant in Burgundy who deals only in 1er and Grand Cru wines. I believe he makes less than a dozen wines altogether. I checked the prices of the wines on winesearcher and they seem pretty high for me at about $ 150.00 for the 1er Cru wines.
Olivier Bernstein Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Lavrottes 2007 - Light cherry color. Sweet nose. Ripe, bright fruit. Red berries. An easy drink that's very attractive now. After two hours, some deeper caramel-like notes began to emerge. Very good.
Olivier Bernstein Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers 2007 - Deep scents. Mint. Ripe fruit. Again, red berries. Good length on the finish. Tannic. A solidly built wine. It's good but somehow lacks excitement. 2 hours later, a butterscotch component also came out.
Olivier Bernstein Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux 2007 - Tight and unyielding for the first hour and a half. Later, tobacco and dried herbs but not much else. Some noted mint or eucalyptus but I didn't get any of that. More hefty than the first two wines but difficult to evaluate. Judgment reserved.
Olivier Bernstein Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Suchots 2007 - Quite dark. Beautiful nose. Floral and fruity. Meaty. A wine with some stuffing. Sweet fruit and chocolate covered cherries. Complex and long. Well balanced. Already attractive now but will surely gain depth with age. Excellent.
Everyone agreed the Vosne Romanee was best followed by the Chambolle Musigny with the 2 Gevreys not really showing too well.
Later in the day I dropped by Barcino at the Fort for a meeting with the owner, Sergi. We tried a couple of wines. What stood out was the CARE Chardonnay, a new Albarino who's name I can't recall and an excellent Huala Torrontes from Argentina that reminds me of Alsatian Pinot Gris. After the meeting, we got reports that the traffic was at a standstill everywhere so we decided to stay and have some tapas with a new wine:
Beronia Tempranillo Elaboracion Especial 2007 - Rather dark, fruity. Initially, light-bodied, a little spicy, and weak in the finish. A rather easy drink. It gained power as it sat in the glass. After 30 minutes, some coffee notes. After an hour, the finish was noticeably longer. After an hour, very fragrant and fuller-bodied. I would say the wine is drinkable now but it gains a great deal by letting it air for an hour or so. Very good.