By: AJ McClellan
Friday was our very first backroom tasting night. Although we held it at the bar in the front there was a great lineup with a few surprises in store for those who attended. The theme of the night was Burgundy, and not just any Burgundy but Bonnes Mares and Richebourg! Two of my absolute favorite vineyards. With Bonnes Mares totaling just over 40 acres and producing only 70,000 bottle for the world you can see why it is a commodity. Then you look at Richebourg, nestled up next to the famed Romanee Conti vineyard and comprised of a scant 18 acres which produces only 26,000 bottles this is one of the premier vineyards of Burgundy.
1995 Remoissenet Montrachet - A beautiful wine, especially after being allowed to open for a couple of hours. Light tropical fruits with heavy peach and pear notes followed by gripping minerality and subtle floral notes.
1990 Remoissenet Richebourg – I was a little iffy on this bottle at first but after being open for an hour the wine flourished to show great depth of earth and dark fruit with a hint of smoke and barbeque.
1999 Groffier Bonnes Mares – This wine was beautiful, like laying in a strawberry field. Fresh crushed strawberries with a great limestone minerality backing and subtle floral notes of fresh summer.
1996 Louis Jadot Richebourg – Again with big earth and a slight note of smoke. Very rustic in the glass with dark fruits and stone gravel paired with smoked quail.
1998 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Bonnes Mares – I was looking forward to this bottle the most and it was very slow to open, before the tasting we had the wines open for almost an hour in a half and the Vogue was still tight and giving off very little. After another 2 hours the wine started to unfurl its beautiful red fruits and great limestone minerality. At the end of the night this wine was drinking beautifully with great minerality, beautiful fruit, and a solid floral backdrop.
1999 Hudelot Noellat Richebourg – As a surprise we dropped in two more wines for the tasting. The Noellat was brilliant, possibly my wine of the night. You again get the tell-tale Richebourg signs of dark fruit, almost Hermitage like leather, smoke, and meat but with a subtleness that is hard to come by outside of the Pinot Noir grape. Very complex.
1969 Remoissenet Gevrey Chambertin les Combottes – As a ringer we threw in a Gevrey. The Combottes vineyard lays about a mile away from Bonnes Mares but it could not be more different. More dark fruit with a structured backbone and deep earthy notes. Beautiful finesse for a wine with 40 years of age, and drinking like a champ.
After the Tasting it was time to sit back down and enjoy some great bottles of wine.
2000 Pierre Peters Les Chetillons – Always a favorite of mine, fresh apricots and peaches with a rock hard minerality and fresh acidity.
2006 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc Section 94 – I love this wine for its freshness and uniqueness. Huge tropical fruit, grapefruit, pineapple, and kiwi. I could smell the wine across the table when it was opened. Great minerality with a firm texture in the mouth.
1997 Guigal La Mouline – For a Rhone from a lesser vintage this bottle was excellent, but hey, its Guigal… Smoke, bacon fat, tar, leather, pepper, cinnamon, spice, plum, tobacco, and roses. A beautiful wine that came close to stealing the show.
1995 La Nerth Chateauneuf do Pape Cuvee des Cadettes – We have had this wine on several occasions and it has been a stud every time we open it. Classic CDP with dark cherries, bramble, tilled earth, and huge cooking spices.