WTN: SOBER:78-92 BdM CortonCharlie, 89-91 Mongeard-Mug, 59BA

Last night SOBER met at Andy's house. Last spring, someone had spotted an enticing offer of Mongeard-Mugnerets, we had decided to buy as a group. Andy offered to host, and we agreed to do a bit of a potluck (though Andy of course had most of the load).

I picked up Craig and we arrived to find almost everyone there in kitchen. I helped Craig with peeling parsnips, and decided if you're going to peel parsnips, you might as well drink 1988 Moet and Chandon Dom Perignon (thanks Andy!). Full-bodied, crisp, lemons and a bit of herb. Just a touch of yeast, pretty tasty to me. B+
We also enjoyed a couple of pizzas (Margherita and pepperoni) that Andy and Antoine (chef friend of Andy's filling in for absent Dan) had prepared.

We moved to table. In addition to the reds, we had a flight of whites that Craig had found at auction:

Flight One (with a lovely terrine with pistachios that Antoine had made)
(after initial sniffs of all three it was clear that these were younger than the last 4 or 5 bottles of 98 and 99 BdM I've had!)

1986 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
Nose of pears, hazelnuts, and pineapple. Sweet fruit on palate, long finish with stony mineral notes. I think I liked better than most others, though at end I think Mark also named it his favorite. A-

1989 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
Sweet pears, easy drinking, maybe a bit of heat on finish. Pears, lemon curd, and vanilla. Nice enough wine, but seemed simple and maybe a touch tired compared to its flightmates. B

1992 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
(I think this wasn't part of the auction lot, but a contribution from Andy)
Floral, young, full-bodied, still a touch of oak. Good, classy, long. B+/A-

Flight Two (with a beautiful fennel, orange, avocado, and tarragon shrimp salad from John)

1978 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
Funny wine. Started out with a bright intense nose, floral and limey. But with only a few minutes in glass it seemed to fade and really show it's age. A couple of people thought it corked but it didn't show in my glass. B+ to start, B- after a while.

1983 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
Dramatic nose, hazelnuts and honey, a bit fat/low acid. Funny finish, I think Mark called it with "lactic." Still, good nose and attack. Favorite of many tasters. B+

1985 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
No debate about this one. Corked!

We moved on to reds, Tim's mushroom/stilton gallette (I want that recipe!) going with a loner, while Mark was testing his beef:

1990  Mongeard-Mugneret Clos Vougeot
Warm, giving, with sweet 1990 fruit but without any jammy/overripe/pruney notes. Medium-bodied, black cherries and forest floor. One of the better 90s I've had in last few years. A-/B+

Flight Three (with perfect tenderloin with a peppercorn cream sauce with a parsnip/potato puree)

1989 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes
Low acids, a bit cheesey and pruney. OK, but not especially appealing to me, some others liked much more. B-

1991 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes
This however I really liked. Clean, delineated, minerals, spice, sandalwood. Nice length. A-/B+

Flight Four (with my panko crusted duck legs)
1989 Mongeard-Mugneret Grands Echezeaux
I initially wrote funky, tired, chalky, weird finish. But then the more sensitive pointed it was corked, and once I went looking I found the TCA.

1991 Mongeard-Mugneret Grands Echezeaux
Spicy, fresh, minerally, loamy. Good length, and in a really good place. Drinking well but no hurry. My ROTN by a hair A-

Then came the cheese course, provided by Mike (hard) and Cathleen (soft). Great assortment, by faves being the Ossau-Iraty, a prime Comte (from fromage.com), and an a pointe Epoisses - but other interesting stuff like a one with walnut in rind, a crottin, etc.

1991 Mongeard-Mugneret Richebourg
Nose is a bit lifted, but that seems to blow off somewhat after a bit. Warm fruit, tannic, good length. I like, but needs time. B+/A- (with potential for better)

Andy is ever the generous host, and decided we needed a little sweet finisher. At my house that might be a Loire from the 80s, but he took John down to choose and came up with 1959 Staatsweinguter "Steinberger" Riesling Beerenauslese (Rheingau). Whoa!  Apricots, honey, nuts. Intense, yet with a real lightness. Good acids, loooooooonnng finish, what a way to end evening, incredible generosity from Andy. A

Quite a night, I only wish I'd had a chauffeur so I could have indulged more. Lots of disagreements on the wines, which makes things funner to me. Excellent job on the food from everyone.

TITLED EDITED FOR BETTER SEARCHING

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.  
 

1989 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
Sweet pears, easy drinking, maybe a bit of heat on finish. Pears, lemon curd, and vanilla. Nice enough wine, but seemed simple and maybe a touch tired compared to its flightmates. B

1992 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
(I think this wasn't part of the auction lot, but a contribution from Andy)
Floral, young, full-bodied, still a touch of oak. Good, classy, long. B+/A-

I had the opportunity to taste the '89, ''92 and '95 side by side almost a year ago (for details of the dinner on this). Interestingly, I also ranked the '92 over the '89 thus:

With a whole serving each of Homemade Duck Foie Gras Terrine with Salad & Toasted Baguette:


1992 & 1989 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru - x x x x
The 1992 initially displayed broad, rich fruit touched with toasty-oak, nuttiness and good weight mid-mouth (the fruit driven-ness seemed to put on the brakes a little past mid-mouth). It lightened up significantly after a few minutes in glass, turning much more minerally, picking up discreet citrus notes and displaying a flinty-steeliness vaguely reminiscent of Chablis but for the alluring mildly spiced, toasty-wood-nuttiness.

The 1989 was marginally, but noticeably less broad mid-palate than the 1992, and had tenser/nervy character (this is not a bad thing) and, towards the back and finish, more apparent citrus notes. Comparatively not as forward than the 1992, this was a more intellectual wine, demanding more attention and thought. I found the structure of the 1989 better, but the 1992 more immediately pleasing.

x x x x

With an absolutely delicious dish of Sautéed Fresh Lobster with Fresh Chantrelles & Shallot Fondue:



1995 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru - This was served several minutes after the two previously mentioned wines. Initially, the 1995 was comparatively mute and diffuse compared with the 1992 and 1989; to the point that the Stockbroker and I ranked these Corton Charlemagnes, in descending order: 1992, 1989, 1995. Just to be sure, I set the glass aside for a while so that it had as much "glass time" as the first two.

After around 20 minutes, I revisited it and my patience was rewarded with a plumper, sweetly perfumed nectar of white flowers, riper fruit, a bit of lemon cream and mild vanilla/oak-spicy-toastiness - more forward fruit and apparent wood, less minerality and nutiness than the previous two. This eventually turned into a more crowd-pleaser-styled wine which would probably draw higher scores from professional reviewers.

What a great tasting. Nice that none of the whites was premOxed.

1989 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes
Low acids, a bit cheesey and pruney. OK, but not especially appealing to me, some others liked much more. B-

1991 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes
This however I really liked. Clean, delineated, minerals, spice, sandalwood. Nice length. A-/B+

How big of a difference is there between the VV and the 'regular' Echezeaux with MM? I was thinking of buying the 04 MM Echezeaux 'regular' for $60 because it's available nearby. But you don't sound terribly thrilled with these wines. Maybe because of what else was on the table?

What a great tasting. Nice that none of the whites was premOxed.

While the 78 showed some age after a little while in glass, at 31 nothing premature about that. I don't know anyone who really worries about any age-worthy white Burgs before 95, when the pox first seemed to appear

How big of a difference is there between the VV and the 'regular' Echezeaux with MM? I was thinking of buying the 04 MM Echezeaux 'regular' for $60 because it's available nearby. But you don't sound terribly thrilled with these wines. Maybe because of what else was on the table?

I've only had the younger vines Echezeaux in the 2001 version (Winex had for $35-40, I still kick myself for not buying more, down to one or two bottles). Never had the regular and VV side by side. The questions of course for 2004 are (a) are you sensitive to pyrazines and (b) how much do the greenie meanies affect the M-M? Personally I don't see a lot of interest in 2004s, but as a fairly (but not totally) pyrazine-insensitive person my strategy on 04s is to only buy if total fire sale prices.

The questions of course for 2004 are (a) are you sensitive to pyrazines and (b) how much do the greenie meanies affect the M-M? Personally I don't see a lot of interest in 2004s, but as a fairly (but not totally) pyrazine-insensitive person my strategy on 04s is to only buy if total fire sale prices.

I agree so I'll probably pass on this.

Probably a good wine, but I think 04s will be cheap real soon.
I should note at these SOBER events I grade harder, I never said I was consistent. I really liked all the 91s, and the 90. I am less and less a fan of 89 in general. Overall, I thought M-M is very good

That is a great haul. I've enjoyed the M-M's that I've had very much and I'm a fan of the '91 vintage so I've been looking for these. Not much luck though.

The winex M-M '01 blow out was amazing (Les Cras for $20? lovely wine) and then Premier Cru closed out the '02s. I thought it was great at the time, but since then they can be a challenge to find.

The winex M-M '01 blow out was amazing (Les Cras for $20? lovely wine)...

Indeed. That seems like a major loss for them.

I need to pay more attention to these sales!