By: AJ McClellan
Yesterday was a Great night for Burgundy. We had a slew of great wines opened around the table; one of the special surprises was Jay McDonald’s EIEIO wines. They captured the essence of Oregon, perfectly accentuating all of the attractive attributes that I love from Oregon but Jay was light handed enough in the winemaking style that the vineyards were allowed to show off what they had to offer. Yummy…
1978 Remoissenet Mazi Chambertin – Classic Remoissenet. I blinded as a 89 Gevrey Chambertin, the wine was showing very youthful with bright red fruit and classic earth and forest floor on the palate. Matt described the wine as “someone trying to light a roll of smarties on fire with a punk”, and I think he hit the nail on the head….
1989 Remoissenet Richebourg – Corked
1996 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Combettes – At first nose I thought the wine was wonderful. Then I tasted the bottle and felt that it lacked acidity and was a touch flabby on the palate. I brushed the wine off as having premox… Well I went back to the bottle after a few hours and it was very interesting. The nose had started to pick up the oxidized notes of caramel and honey but the palate had reversed itself showing bright lemon notes with hazelnut and a long tropical finish. A very interesting bottle…
1998 Leroy Pommard Les Vignots – This was the Domaine bottling by Leroy. A very good bottle of Burgundy, the wine opened up immediately showing dusty cherry with tilled earth, cooked clove, and peach pipe tobacco. The palate was very smooth with a hint of roughness to the tannins but all together well integrated.
2008 EIEIO “E” – This was my first time to try these wines and I was very impressed. Made by Jay McDonald, you can tell he has a sense of humor just by looking at the name of the wine, this is quintessential Oregon pinot noir! The nose showed sour red cherries with notes of tanned leather and some great minerality. You could tell there was a touch of toastyness from the 20% new oak that Jay uses but it was well integrated into the wine and served to point out all the attractive attributes of the wines rather than to hide any flaws.
2009 EIEIO “O” – This EIEIO’s top of the line bottling, only produced in exceptional years. The “O” label was slightly bigger than the everyday “E” label showing more potential for aging. The nose had the same classic Oregon smell with dry dusty tannins and a lovely black fruit finish.
1994 Domaine Armand Rousseau Charmes Chambertin – I was a little suspect of this wine when we first opened it, but if Burgundy has taught me anything it is patience. After an hour in the glass the wine finally cast off its damp nose and emerged with dark raspberries, vanilla bean, barn yard, and a note that reminds me of a old dirt crusted shovel that has been left out in the sun too long.
2000 Domaine Lamarch Clos de Vougeot – This was a very interesting bottle as well. Notes of wet fur, chewing tobacco, black currants, and dark chocolate showed on the nose and palate. The wine was done in a bigger style reminding me of a NSG….